BIRAGO, Giovanni Pietro

This text of this manuscript is the Gramatica by Aelius Donatus (active mid 4th century), a Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric, the tutor of St. Jerome. It contains grammatical and moral treatises giving elementary instruction in verse. It was made for Maximilian, the son of Ludovico Sforza (Ludovico il Moro), Duke of Milan (1452-1508) and his wife Beatrice d’Este. The illustrations were executed by several artists, including Ambrogio de Predis and Giovanni Pietro Birago.

The probably most famous miniature on folio 13v is the work of Giovanni Pietro Birago. It shows young Maximilian being instructed by his teacher. An ideal pupil, Maximilian concentrates on his studies while his less diligent companions are easily diverted or have even fallen asleep.

This text of this manuscript is the Grammatica by Aelius Donatus (active mid 4th century), a Roman grammarian and teacher of rhetoric, the tutor of St. Jerome. It contains grammatical and moral treatises giving elementary instruction in verse. It was made for Massimiliano, the son of Ludovico Sforza (Ludovico il Moro), Duke of Milan (1452-1508) and his wife Beatrice d’Este. The illustrations were executed by several artists, including Ambrogio de Predis and Giovanni Pietro Birago.

The decoration on folio 42v, shown here, in which the young prince is represented between two female figures personifying Vice and Virtue, is attributed to Birago.

The Sforza Hours was commissioned around 1490 by Bona Sforza, the widow of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza of Milan. It is a Book of Hours according to the use of Rome, containing prayers and devotional texts for the private use and edification of the laity. The miniatures contributed by Giovanni Pietro Birago and belonging the oldest and most comprehensive portion of the manuscript bear testimony to the most up-to-date Renaissance ideas.

After the death of Bona Sforza, the codex entered the possession of the Habsburg princess Margaret of Austria, regent of the Spanish Netherlands. She asked her court miniaturist Gerard Horenbout to illuminate the unfinished part of the prayer book that had remained blank. This might have happened between 1517 and 1521. Horenbout miniatures greatly differed in style from those of his Italian predecessor.

The miniature on folio 7r was painted by Birago. The Evangelist Matthew is placed in a scene of Renaissance architecture. The lectern where he is working bears his initials “S. M.” (Sanctus Matthaeus). In the foreground an angel - Matthew’s attribute- holds a book from which the mighty figure of the saint reads.

The text on folio 28v, framed by ornamental candelabra-like forms, describes the Passion of Christ. The putto kneeling before a chalice in the lower area of the picture points to the mystery of the Eucharist.