RMGYMss.
BOOK OF HOURS LEAF Ref 396 recto
This is a leaf from a Book of Hours that was probably produced in Northern France c.1450-1475 that has on it a large miniature of the Decollation of Saint John the Baptist the was added by THE SPANISH FORGER" early in the 1900's.
The text is the opening of the “Gospel sequences” that begin with the Gospel of Saint John chapter 1, verses 1 to 14.
The size of the leaf is 165mm x 122mm (6 1/2ins. x 4 8/10ins.).
A full description of the miniature is shown against the detail picture.
PROVENANCE: -
This is not the miniature that would be expected to accompany the text to the Gospel of Saint John. That would be his writing on Patmos or his martyrdom. It is not even a miniature that would be expected to be found in a Book of Hours other than very infrequently. Advice has been taken from experts and it has been confirmed that THIS MINIATURE IS NOT FROM THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY BUT THAT IT WAS PRODUCED EARLY IN THE TWENTYETH CENTURY BY THE “SPANISH FORGER”. The Margan Library, New York, has confirmed the authenticity of this miniature and have assigned it leaf L 268 in their record of the works produced by the Spanish Forger camp or workshop.
GENERAL COMMENTS: -
This is a superb addition to the collection with the miniature being in perfect condition even though the border has been subject to age related wear.
The leaf was purchased because of the beauty of the miniature and the fact that such a subject matter would be totally unexpected to be found with the text that the leaf contains. I am aware that from time to time texts can have different miniatures to those usually seen - an artist can make a mistake or the original owner could have asked for something special. But having searched reference books it became obvious that a miniature of the Decollation of John the Baptist occurs very infrequently and only in relation to devotions to him.
During the course of that research, I came across Item 11 in the 2001 catalogue "Books of Hours" of Bruce Ferrini where there is a description of a Book of Hours that includes miniatures by the Spanish Forger (prior to finding this, I had always thought that the Forger's work had been on parts of old music leaves) where one of the images shown includes several soldiers in armour which look quite like the soldier on my leaf. As a result of this discovery, I then searched through Spanish Forger images on the Internet where most of the images of soldiers are also so similar to the one on my leaf. I have to say though, that I have not found any images of a lady with a head covering that correspond with the lady here or images that correspond with the executioner here.
Confirmation of the authenticity of the miniature is a significant event for me.
THE SPANISH FORGER: -
The Spanish Forger is the name given to an unidentified individual who, in the late 19th to early 20th century, created a large number of forgeries of medieval miniatures. The Spanish Forger's works were painted on vellum or parchment leaves of genuine medieval books, using either blank margins or scraping off the original writing. He also “completed” unfinished miniatures or added missing miniatures in medieval choir books. His works fooled many experts and collectors and appear today in the collections of many museums and libraries. Over 200 forgeries have been identified. Although he was originally thought to be Spanish, it is now believed he may have been French, working in Paris. A number of his forged miniatures have been identified as copied, with modifications, from those published in several French books published in the 1870s -1880s. His works were very deceptive when created, but over time it has been recognized that the faces of individuals in his pictures have “sugary expressions” inconsistent with genuine medieval illuminations. Some of his miniatures have also been identified as forgeries because they are of secular scenes that would not have appeared in genuine medieval religious texts. The Spanish Forger’s works were the subject of an exhibition at the Morgan Library in New York City in 1978, for which an extensive catalogue was published. His works are now themselves collected as forgeries, selling for several thousand dollars each.
(Taken from Wikipedia)
BOOK OF HOURS LEAF Ref 396 recto
This is a leaf from a Book of Hours that was probably produced in Northern France c.1450-1475 that has on it a large miniature of the Decollation of Saint John the Baptist the was added by THE SPANISH FORGER" early in the 1900's.
The text is the opening of the “Gospel sequences” that begin with the Gospel of Saint John chapter 1, verses 1 to 14.
The size of the leaf is 165mm x 122mm (6 1/2ins. x 4 8/10ins.).
A full description of the miniature is shown against the detail picture.
PROVENANCE: -
This is not the miniature that would be expected to accompany the text to the Gospel of Saint John. That would be his writing on Patmos or his martyrdom. It is not even a miniature that would be expected to be found in a Book of Hours other than very infrequently. Advice has been taken from experts and it has been confirmed that THIS MINIATURE IS NOT FROM THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY BUT THAT IT WAS PRODUCED EARLY IN THE TWENTYETH CENTURY BY THE “SPANISH FORGER”. The Margan Library, New York, has confirmed the authenticity of this miniature and have assigned it leaf L 268 in their record of the works produced by the Spanish Forger camp or workshop.
GENERAL COMMENTS: -
This is a superb addition to the collection with the miniature being in perfect condition even though the border has been subject to age related wear.
The leaf was purchased because of the beauty of the miniature and the fact that such a subject matter would be totally unexpected to be found with the text that the leaf contains. I am aware that from time to time texts can have different miniatures to those usually seen - an artist can make a mistake or the original owner could have asked for something special. But having searched reference books it became obvious that a miniature of the Decollation of John the Baptist occurs very infrequently and only in relation to devotions to him.
During the course of that research, I came across Item 11 in the 2001 catalogue "Books of Hours" of Bruce Ferrini where there is a description of a Book of Hours that includes miniatures by the Spanish Forger (prior to finding this, I had always thought that the Forger's work had been on parts of old music leaves) where one of the images shown includes several soldiers in armour which look quite like the soldier on my leaf. As a result of this discovery, I then searched through Spanish Forger images on the Internet where most of the images of soldiers are also so similar to the one on my leaf. I have to say though, that I have not found any images of a lady with a head covering that correspond with the lady here or images that correspond with the executioner here.
Confirmation of the authenticity of the miniature is a significant event for me.
THE SPANISH FORGER: -
The Spanish Forger is the name given to an unidentified individual who, in the late 19th to early 20th century, created a large number of forgeries of medieval miniatures. The Spanish Forger's works were painted on vellum or parchment leaves of genuine medieval books, using either blank margins or scraping off the original writing. He also “completed” unfinished miniatures or added missing miniatures in medieval choir books. His works fooled many experts and collectors and appear today in the collections of many museums and libraries. Over 200 forgeries have been identified. Although he was originally thought to be Spanish, it is now believed he may have been French, working in Paris. A number of his forged miniatures have been identified as copied, with modifications, from those published in several French books published in the 1870s -1880s. His works were very deceptive when created, but over time it has been recognized that the faces of individuals in his pictures have “sugary expressions” inconsistent with genuine medieval illuminations. Some of his miniatures have also been identified as forgeries because they are of secular scenes that would not have appeared in genuine medieval religious texts. The Spanish Forger’s works were the subject of an exhibition at the Morgan Library in New York City in 1978, for which an extensive catalogue was published. His works are now themselves collected as forgeries, selling for several thousand dollars each.
(Taken from Wikipedia)