"The happiest, sweetest, and liveliest little book imaginable."--John Canaday.

Near the end of the fifteenth century, a Flemish artist known only as the Master of Mary of Burgundy painted one of the last great illuminated manuscripts for Engelbert of Nassau, a member of the courts of rulers of the Netherlands from Charles the Bold to Philip the Fair. We have reproduced this magnificent book, now in the Bodlein Library, Oxford, as closely as possible to the original, including its gold leaf. The margins of this extraordinary book of hours (the most common kind of devotional book for the laity during the Middle Ages) contain still lives of brilliant objects--such as glass vessels and jewels--while the center pages show biblical scenes. For its human scale, sparkling borders, and delicate landscapes, this book of hours is a lasting treasure.

The Book of Hours were derived from the official service-books of the Church, but they were produced as the personal prayerbooks of the laity. Combining sacred and secular elements in a manner found in no other type of illuminated manuscript, Books of Hours have an especial significance in the history of religious sentiment and in the development of painting.

This comprehensive and richly illustrated catalogue focuses on the finest illustrated manuscripts produced in Europe during the great epoch in Flemish illumination. During this aesthetically fertile period – beginning in 1467 with the reign of the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold and ending in 1561 with the death of the artist Simon Bening – the art of book painting was raised to a new level of sophistication. Sharing inspiration with the celebrated panel painters of the time, illuminators achieved astonishing innovations in the handling of color, light, texture, and space, creating a naturalistic style that would dominate tastes throughout Europe for nearly a century. Centering on the notable artists of the period – Simon Marmion, the Vienna Master of Mary of Burgundy, Gerard David, Gerard Horenbout, Bening, and others – the catalogue examines both devotional and secular manuscript illumination within a broad context: the place of illuminators within the visual arts, including artistic exchange between book painters and panel painters; the role of court patronage and the emergence of personal libraries; and the international appeal of the new Flemish illumination style. Contributors to the catalogue include Maryan W. Ainsworth, curator of European paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; independent scholar Catherine Reynolds; and Elizabeth Morrison, assistant curator of manuscripts at the Getty Museum. Illuminating the Renaissance is published in conjunction with an exhibition organized by the Getty Museum, the Royal Academy of Arts, London, and the British Library to be held at the Getty Museum from June 17 to September 7, 2003, and at the Royal Academy of Arts from November 25, 2003 to February 22, 2004.