MINIATURIST, Bohemian
(active 1400-1410)

The Travels of the Knight, John Mandeville

1400-10
Manuscript (Additional Ms. 24189), 225 x 180 mm
British Library, London

This manuscript includes 28 full-page coloured silverpoint drawings in a kind of grisaille painting on green parchment but no text. It originated in Bohemia after 1400 and has special significance for manuscript illumination in the International Gothic style because of its faithful observation of nature and architecture and rendering of contemporary costume. It was very popular and widely distributed.

The illustration on folio 4v shows the knight Mandeville on his journey to Constantinople. It is not clear where this scene takes place. Groups of pilgrims can be seen on water and on land; Mandeville stands in the middle, elegantly clothed.




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