1. French School
15th Century

Adoration of the Shepherds

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French School, Adoration of the Shepherds

Adoration of the Shepherds

Watercolor and gold leaf on vellum, from a Book of Hours, 183 x 158 mm. The framed scene, charmingly naïve in its execution with its medieval landscape, is set into a complex ornamental border of flowers and foliage of considerable sophistication. Which leads one to the supposition that the leaf is the work of at least two different artists. The capital D that begins the text is also highly ornamented and the additional text verso also has ornamented capitals. The colors are bright and fresh and the gold leaf brilliant, although there are bits of rubbing and tiny surface losses, hardly a problem in an object over 500 years old.