J. Paul Getty Museum, MS. Ludwig XV 7, fol. 121r, 1405 | MARGOT

Detailed manuscript information (based on Roman de la Rose: digital surrogates of medieval manuscripts and Anton von Euw and Joachim M. Plotzek, Die Handschriften der Sammlung Ludwig, Cologne: Schnügen-Museum, 1979-85, vol. 4:228-239.)

Parchment, measure: 372x258mm, 138 folios, two columns, 44 lines.

Scene depicted

Genius's Sermon and Definitive Sentence: Lady Nature is giving Genius a missive for the God of Love and his army.

Miniature description

Size:

372x258mm

Column miniature

Height: 14 lines

Materials:

Parchment

Gold leaf, grey, blue, and brown

Frame:

Simple gold leaf exterior frame with a thin blue and red inner frame. A single gold leaf foliate extender is located on the left corner of the frame, crowned by a "sperm."

Background/Landscape:

Brown desert ground, with white and blue sky. The very top of the sky is dark blue with gold stars.

Placement of miniature:

Directly before Nature's confession

Place of Production of the Miniature:

Paris, France

Date of Production of the Miniature:

1405

Similarities to other images from the corpus:

No similarities

Secondary sources:

Euw, Anton von and Joachim M. Plotzek. Die Handscriften der Sammlung Ludwig. Cologne: Schnütgen-Museum, 1979-85, vol. 4: 228-239.

Detailed description

Allegories:

Nature is on the left.

Genius is on the right.

Clothing and other features:

*Semi-grisaille for figures

1. Nature

Long houppeland with high collar and ruffles and animal prints (a rabbit at the bottom, foxes on top)
Golden girdle
Reticulated headdress

2. Genius

Long houppeland
Girdle
Hood
Tonsured head

3. Other garments are hanging from a pole, probably Genius's priestly robes

Gestures:

Nature is looking at Genius as she gives him the missive for the God of Love with her right hand and holds her robe with her left hand. Genius's hands are positioned as if accepting Nature's missive.

Landscape:

An attempt has been made to create an atmospheric perspective with blue sky, stars and a dirt ground.

Objects:

In the upper right hand corner, two more white articles of clothing are hanging from a pole.

Ex-libris

On the recto of the first flyleaf: The owner is probably Jean du Rueil (1474-1537) according to an erased entry, read as J Duryeil.
On the verso of the same leaf: A medieval entry reading (La) mauie and F. Lorris (?).
Louis-Jean Gaignat (1697-1768).
Charles-Adrien Picard. Philippe l'Ain, Marseille (glued on the recto of the 2nd overleaf, the text from the auction catalog of his manuscripts).
Possible owners of the manuscript: Claude-Joseph Clos (1812); Probably Count MacCarthy-Reagh (1744-1811); William Beckford, Fonthill (1759-1844), bought Oct. 1814 from Auguste Chardin, Paris; in Beckford's inventory of the year 1844, it carried the no. 36; Alexander, 10th Duke of Hamilton (1767-1852); he inherited the manuscripts of his father-in-law, William Beckford (on the recto of the 1st overleaf in pencil HB no. 427); Berlin, Graphiksammlung of the Königlich-Preußisches Museum. Albert de Naurois (his ex libris with the motto "Tantum prodest quantum prosunt" in the inner front cover); Edouard Rahir, Paris (1862-1924); Adolphe Bordes; Jacques Guérin.

The manuscript belongs to the most beautiful of the approximately three hundred extant Roman de la Rose manuscripts. Furthermore it is, with its 101 column-wide miniature paintings, one of the most richly decorated copies of the text that was so popular from its emergence into the 16th century.