FOUQUET, Jean

The Decameron was not the only work that made Boccaccio (1313-1375) famous throughout Europe during his lifetime. He offered his worldview in the moral glorification of outstanding personalities in his De casibus virorum et feminarum illustrium (On the Fates of Famous Men and Women) written in Latin. The book kept in Munich is probably the best known of all the Boccaccio manuscripts. It contains the unhappy destinies of famous men and women, then the favourite reading matter of the nobility. The illuminations were by Fouquet, although only a small number of the miniatures, such as the title illustration, were by his own hand, the others were executed by talented members of his workshop.

Fouquet’s frontispiece (folio 2v) is the largest and most magnificent miniature in the Munich Boccaccio codex. It depicts a grand scene, which has nothing to do with the actual content of the book. It represents the small figure of King Charles VII of France on a raised, canopied seat from which he presides over a trial held in the Vend�me in 1458.

During the Hundred Years’ War against the English and beyond, French kings from Charles VII (1422-61) to Fran�ois I (1515-47) had their court in the Loire valley. It was there that they built many of their finest residences. Jean Fouquet worked there, presumably after having done his apprenticeship as a miniaturist in Paris. A journey he undertook to Rome provided him with further inspiration, which he incorporated into his illustrations with great ingenuity. Most significant are the miniatures for the Book of Hours for �tienne Chevalier (c. 1410-1474), secretary and finance minister to King Charles VII of France (reigned 1422-1461). He was one of those bourgeois court officials who because of their great capabilities and loyalty, had risen in rank and influence in Paris and had as a result acquired considerable wealth. The creator of the miniatures in his Book of Hours was Jean Fouquet, with whom French 15th-century painting attained its undisputed zenith. Here we see landscapes typical of the early Italian Renaissance, along with depictions of palaces and castles typical of the Limbourg brothers or the Parisian School.

Originally this Book of Hours was a sumptuous manuscript rivaling the most beautiful manuscripts of the 15th century. Yet, it has suffered a sad fate. In the 18th century it was divided up into sections, with the loss of all the text pages except two. The illuminated pages were scattered in all directions in the 19th century. From the surviving 47 illuminated folios 40 are kept in the Mus�e Cond�, Chantilly, 2 in the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris, 1 each in the Biblioth�que Nationale, Paris, British Library, London, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Wildentein Foundation, London, and a private collection.

The picture shows the miniature �tienne Chevalier and His Patron Saint from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier (folio 5r). Fouquet painted a physiognomically convincing portrait of him in the Melun diptych. A portrait of the patron also appears in the illustrations in the Book of Hours.

The two scenes presented here in succession (�tienne Chevalier and his Patron, and The Madonna before the Cathedral) together make up an organic whole; they are in fact a single composition. On account, however, of limitations of size, the artist was obliged to make them into two pictures, facing each other. The internal space, inspired by Italian Renaissance art, is framed by flat pilasters connected by an elaborate cornice, and the arched niche of a Gothic cathedral. On the left kneels the donor with his patron saint St Stephen the Martyr. Their figures, in red robes, are accompanied by golden-haired angels playing on instruments. �tienne Chevalier is painted in the same position as in his Berlin portrait, but his face has aged by a good ten years. His skin is more wrinkled, his nose more pointed and his lips thinner. Time has left no mark on the features of the patron saint; his left hand tenderly rests on the Chancellor’s shoulder. The architecture also reminds us of the earlier diptych.

The picture shows the miniature The Madonna before the Cathedral from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier (folio 4r).

The two scenes presented here in succession (�tienne Chevalier and his Patron, and The Madonna before the Cathedral) together make up an organic whole; they are in fact a single composition.

In the right-hand miniature the Madonna, suckling her Child, is seated in a niche framed by a Gothic arch. She wears a crown on her head, her blue cloak sweeps in angular folds to the gold and red patterned carpet. The colours, the elaborately gilded architecture and the monumental handling of space give the composition - despite its small size - a grandeur and solemnity of its own.

The picture shows the miniature Enthronement of the Virgin from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier.

The present miniature depicts the Coronation of the Virgin from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier. The setting is a lavishly decorated palace hall before a monumental triple throne. For the miniature Fouquet chose seven colours, which are distributed such that the viewer’s gaze focuses on the Trinity and the Virgin.

The picture shows a miniature St John at Patmos from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier.

The picture shows a miniature Martyrdom of St James the Great from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier.

The picture shows the miniature Martyrdom of St Apollonia from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier.

The picture is an illumination Martyrdom of St Andrew from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier.

The picture shows the miniature Job and his False Comforters from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier.

The picture shows St Bernard preaching in his monastery.

The picture shows the miniature The Annunciation from the Book of Hours of �tienne Chevalier.

This miniature was produced for Matins, the beginning of the liturgical day and at the outset of a cycle of images devoted to the joys and sorrows of Mary.

This manuscript was created for �tienne Chevalier (c. 1410-1474, secretary and finance minister to King Charles VII of France (reigned 1422-1461). He was one of those bourgeois court officials who because of their great capabilities and loyalty, had risen in rank and influence in Paris and had as a result acquired considerable wealth. The creator of the miniatures in his Book of Hours was Jean Fouquet, with whom French 15th-century painting attained its undisputed zenith.

Originally this Book of Hours was a sumptuous manuscript rivaling the most beautiful manuscripts of the 15th century. Yet, it has suffered a sad fate. In the 18th century it was divided up into sections, with the loss of all the text pages except two. The illuminated pages were scattered in all directions in the 19th century. From the surviving 47 illuminated folios 40 are kept in the Mus�e Cond�, Chantilly, 2 in the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris, 1 each in the Biblioth�que Nationale, Paris, British Library, London, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Wildentein Foundation, London, and a private collection.

The shown leaf in the Louvre represents St Martin. In the main scene, Fouquet shows how the martyr, a magnificent horseman, dressed in the fashion of the royal court, shares his cloak with a beggar. The painter has transposed the event to Paris, to the bridge opposite the Grand Châtalet and the Petit Châtalet. In the initial O beneath this scene, Christ appears to St Martin in a dream.

The present miniature in the Louvre represents St Margaret, one of the French king’s favourite saints. It is one of the best preserved miniatures of this famous Book of Hours.

This manuscript was created for �tienne Chevalier (c. 1410-1474, secretary and finance minister to King Charles VII of France (reigned 1422-1461). He was one of those bourgeois court officials who because of their great capabilities and loyalty, had risen in rank and influence in Paris and had as a result acquired considerable wealth. The creator of the miniatures in his Book of Hours was Jean Fouquet, with whom French 15th-century painting attained its undisputed zenith.

Originally this Book of Hours was a sumptuous manuscript rivaling the most beautiful manuscripts of the 15th century. Yet, it has suffered a sad fate. In the 18th century it was divided up into sections, with the loss of all the text pages except two. The illuminated pages were scattered in all directions in the 19th century. From the surviving 47 illuminated folios 40 are kept in the Mus�e Cond�, Chantilly, 2 in the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris, 1 each in the Biblioth�que Nationale, Paris, British Library, London, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Wildentein Foundation, London, and a private collection.

The present picture of a holy group opens the prayer of supplication to Anne. Anne, the mother of the Virgin is accentuated in size with her turban-like yellow headdress. On the left stands Mary with the Christ Child. Joseph can be seen behind her and to her right. Mary Cleophas, Anne’s daughter by her second marriage, is depicted on the right, surrounded by her four children, the future apostles: James the Less, Barnabas, Simon the Canaanite and Thaddaeus. Anne’s daughter from her first marriage, Maria Salome, whose dress is similar to that worn by the Mother of God, is the mother of John the Evangelist and James the Great.

This manuscript was created for �tienne Chevalier (c. 1410-1474, secretary and finance minister to King Charles VII of France (reigned 1422-1461). He was one of those bourgeois court officials who because of their great capabilities and loyalty, had risen in rank and influence in Paris and had as a result acquired considerable wealth. The creator of the miniatures in his Book of Hours was Jean Fouquet, with whom French 15th-century painting attained its undisputed zenith.

Originally this Book of Hours was a sumptuous manuscript rivaling the most beautiful manuscripts of the 15th century. Yet, it has suffered a sad fate. In the 18th century it was divided up into sections, with the loss of all the text pages except two. The illuminated pages were scattered in all directions in the 19th century. From the surviving 47 illuminated folios 40 are kept in the Mus�e Cond�, Chantilly, 2 in the Mus�e du Louvre, Paris, 1 each in the Biblioth�que Nationale, Paris, British Library, London, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Wildentein Foundation, London, and a private collection.

Fouquet illustrates the seven penitential psalms with a depiction of David at prayer. He shows the Old Testament king and psalmist on the battlefield in mediaeval armour, kneeling before a magnificent landscape with two corpses in the foreground.

Titus Flavius Josephus (37–c. 100) was a scholar who witnessed the sack of Jerusalem, a first century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer who was born in Jerusalem — then part of Roman Judea — to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry. His most important works were The Jewish War (c. 75) and The Jewish Antiquities (c. 94). The twenty books of Jewish Antiquities were intended to serve the improved understanding and rehabilitation of his people and to describe its culture beginning with the world’s creation down to the time of Emperor Nero, partly relying on Biblical sources.

In 15th century a large number of illuminated manuscripts were dedicated to the Jewish past. The most famous version is the present edition in two volumes now kept in the Biblioth�que Nationale in Paris. This manuscript contains the history of the Jews based on the Old Testament as well as the history of the Jewish revolt against Rome until the fall of the fortress of Masada in A.D. 72. It is a translation from Latin to French, datable to the period of Charles V. The 11 large-scale miniatures were executed by Jean Fouquet and his assistants.

This miniature depicting Taking of Jerusalem is from the illustrated manuscript of Les Antiquit�s Judaïques (Flavius Josephus, De antiquitatibus Iudaeorum). Eleven of the illustrations in this manuscript is by Fouquet whose miniatures were commissioned by Jacques d’Armagnac, Duc of Nemours between1470 and 0476. Many of the narratives are massed battle scenes and sieges in the Old Testament as described by Josephus.

In the centre of the present illustration soldiers set fire to the great Temple of Solomon. Fouquet repeats the topography of Jerusalem as he depicted it in an earlier frontispiece in which the building of the temple is vividly presented with workers engaged in the activities of the medieval mason’s lodge. In keeping with the Old Testament description, the temple is cubic in form, but the elevation is wholly French Gothic.

On folio 25r, the miniature framed by an elegant rinceaux border shows the first episodes of Joseph’s story in the Old Testament (Genesis, 37). The anonymous painter of this picture worked on the manuscript before Fouquet.

In 15th century a large number of illuminated manuscripts were dedicated to the Jewish past. The most famous version is the present edition in two volumes now kept in the Biblioth�que Nationale in Paris. This manuscript contains the history of the Jews based on the Old Testament as well as the history of the Jewish revolt against Rome until the fall of the fortress of Masada in A.D. 72. It is a translation from Latin to French, datable to the period of Charles V. The 11 large-scale miniatures were executed by Jean Fouquet and his assistants.

The miniature on folio 248r illustrates the entry of Ptolemy I Soter into Jerusalem, although the event has been transferred to a medieval setting. Ptolemy, appearing in the foreground as an ostentatious brawler entering the city on horseback, was a general of Alexander the great. After Alexander’s death and the division of his realm, Ptolemy was awarded the title of King of Egypt, where he ruled until his death in 283 B.C. The account by Flavius Josephus according to which Ptolemy also took Jerusalem at some stage is not proven historically.

Fouquet depicts the triumphal entry with his typical skill at depicting crowded scenes and pictorial depth.

This codex contains the history of the kingdom of France, from its mythical origins to the reign of King Charles V (1364-1380).

The Grandes Chroniques de France de Charles V (The Great Chronicle of France of Charles V) was recognised as the standard official history of the French monarchy. By the late 13th century it had become the custom of the monks of Saint-Denis to record remarkable contemporary events. This habit was then systematically continued by court historians, and ultimately developed into a historical project unique in the whole of Europe.

The custom continued at regular intervals. Work on the text of the present manuscript began as early as 1420-30, but it was not completed. Some 30 years later, the task was taken up again. The patron this time was King Charles VII (reigned 1422-1461). A Paris workshop seems to have been responsible for the border illustration, and Jean Fouquet created most of the 51 miniatures himself and did not pass them on to members of his workshop.

Although there were already richly illustrated copies of the Grandes Chroniques, Fouquet totally recast the historical events in the spirit of his time.

On folio 442r Fouquet portrays an event from almost one hundred years earlier, an episode that took place during the visit of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and his son to the French King Charles V in 1377. The picture is the largest in the manuscript and extends over two columns of text, written below in elegant script.

The illustration on folio 89v depicts the scene when Charles the Great is crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III in St. Peter’s in Rome on 25 December A.D. 800. The miniature is an extraordinary architectural document, because Fouquet must have sketched St. Peter’s when he stayed in Rome between 1444 and 1446, shortly before Pope Nicholas V decided to have it rebuilt.

The illustration on folio 342v depicts Queen Jeanne d’�vreux, who was with child when Charles IV died in 1328. The States General appointed Philip, the king’s cousin, as regent. The queen gave birth to a daughter, and Philip was proclaimed King.

The illustration on folio 378v depicts the ceremonial procession when King John II and his wife Joanne of Auvergne arrived in Paris on 17 October 1350 after the coronation in Reims.

The illustration on folio 417r depicts the entry of Charles V to Paris after his coronation in Reims on 19 May 1364.

The illustration on folio 440v depicts the messengers of Emperor Charles IV telling to King Charles V of the emperor’s arrival.

The illustration on folio 443r depicts the scene when Emperor Charles IV and Wenceslas, King of the Romans, mount the black horses that King Charles V has provided for them for their entry to Paris.

The illustration on folio 444v depicts the large banqueting hall of the palace where King Charles V of France is holding a banquet in honour of Emperor Charles IV and Wenceslas, King of the Romans.

This sheet comes from an exemplar of the “Histoire Ancienne jusqu’� C�sar” and the “Faits des Romans”, thirteenth-century historical compilations that were still highly popular in the fifteenth century. The miniature shows Caesar Crossing the Rubicon.

The river Rubicon is notable as Roman law prohibited the Rubicon from being crossed by any Roman Army legion. The river was considered to mark the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul to the north and Italy proper to the south; the law thus protected the republic from internal military threat. When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his army in 49 BC, supposedly on January 10 of the Roman calendar, to make his way to Rome, he broke that law and made armed conflict inevitable. According to historian Suetonius, Caesar uttered the famous phrase “alea iacta est” (the die is cast).

This sheet comes from an exemplar of the “Histoire Ancienne jusqu’� C�sar” and the “Faits des Romans”, thirteenth-century historical compilations that were still highly popular in the fifteenth century. The miniature depicts the Flight of Pompey after the Battle of Pharsalus

The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar’s Civil War. On August 9, 48 BC, the battle was fought at Pharsalus in central Greece between forces of the Populares faction and forces of the Optimates faction. Both factions fielded armies from the Roman Republic. The Populares were led by Gaius Julius Caesar (Caesar) and the Optimates were led by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey). In addition to Pompey, the Optimates faction included most of the Roman Senate. The victory of Caesar weakened the Senatorial forces and solidified his control over the Republic.

This is the leftt wing of a diptych, originally located in Melun. The right wing showing the Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels is in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp.

Estienne Chevalier, who came from Melun, was French Ambassador to England in 1445 and six years later became Treasurer to Charles VII of France. He presented the diptych of which this panel forms the left wing, to his native town; on this wing he had himself painted next to his patron saint, Stephen. The saint, wearing a deacon’s robe, is holding a book, on which a jagged stone is lying, as a symbol of his martyrdom. The formal architecture in the background is in the Italian Renaissance style showing pilasters with coloured inlaid marble panels between them. On the wall, receding in perspective, the name Estienne Chevalier is inscribed several times. Originally the donor and the saint were looking towards the Madonna, who occupied the right wing of the diptych; this panel found its way into the Antwerp Museum.

According to a description of the paintings by Denis Godefroy in 1661, the original frames were covered in blue velvet. Round each picture were strands of gold and silver thread, in which the donor’s initials were woven in pearls. There were also gilded medallions on which stories of the saints were represented.

Tradition has it - and there is considerable supporting evidence - that the Madonna’s features are those of Agnes Sorel, the beautiful and influential mistress of Charles VII. Known portraits of her certainly do not conflict with this hypothesis. Her relationship with Estienne Chevalier was not entirely political, and an eighteenth-century inscription on the back of the Antwerp panel tells us that the diptych of Melun was endowed by Estienne following a vow he made on her death in 1450. The diptych was in the chancel of the Church of Notre-Dame at Melun, south of Paris, from 1461 until about 1775, when the two halves became separated.

The date of Agnes Sorel’s death is not the only reason for assuming that the diptych was painted around 1450. At any later period the cut of Estienne’s robe would no longer have been in fashion. A few years earlier, between 1443 and 1447, Fouquet had been in Italy and the background of the Berlin panel is clearly the result of what he saw there. After returning from the south, he settled in his birthplace, Tours. From then on he worked for Charles VII and the court and became the leading exponent of the French Court style.

This is the right wing of a diptych, originally located in Melun. The left wing showing �tienne Chevalier and St Peter the Martyr is in the Staatliche Museen in Berlin.

On the right-hand shutter of what was once a diptych is a slender female figure standing, with one breast bare. She has the bulging shaved forehead fashionable at the period. Her face and skin as well as the body of the Infant Jesus are a pale grey-white, as if painted in grisaille; the grey-blue of her robe makes for an impression of fatigue and languor. The throne, sumptuously adorned with marble panels, pearls, precious stones and great gold tassels, is surrounded by cherubs painted in vivid red and blue; their figures, recalling two-dimensional decorations, completely fill the rest of the panel. There is a tradition that Agn�s Sorel, this famous beauty of the period, was the model for this Madonna, and the extraordinarily fashionable and somewhat frivolous appearance of the figure, unbefitting the Queen of Heaven, gives some ground for believing it not too far from the truth. In The Waning of the Middle Ages Huizinga described this painting as a most appalling example of a dangerous blend of amorous and religious feelings. “There is a flavour of blasphemous boldness about the whole,” he wrote.

This imposing painting was discovered in 1931 in the small parish church of Nouans, a village i n the Touraine not far from Tours. Known today as the Nouans Pietà, the large panel was immediately described as a masterpiece by Fouquet, painted late in his career in the 1470s.

Recently the painting was completely restored, together with its original frame. The present photo represents the painting before the restoration.

This imposing painting was discovered in 1931 in the small parish church of Nouans, a village i n the Touraine not far from Tours. Known today as the Nouans Pietà, the large panel was immediately described as a masterpiece by Fouquet, painted late in his career in the 1470s.

Recently the painting was completely restored, together with its original frame. The present photo represents the painting after the restoration.

The king is painted between drawn curtains. His thin, ascetic face, melancholy eyes and puritan simplicity are evidence of the profound psychological penetration of the painter and the economy of the means used to express it. The blue hat is adorned with a V-shaped gold pattern; and this is practically the only trace of pomp in the painting. His simple dark red velvet doublet is bordered with brown fur at the neck and cuffs. The rather sad, somewhat timid face, the eyes narrow, the nose long, the lips thick, looks as if carved by a sculptor’s chisel. The artist has painted the king in three-quarters profile and nothing but the inscription “le tr�s victorieux roy de France” betrays that this was the ruler who brought the Hundred Years’ War to a triumphant end. It is possible that the Touraine artist may have painted this portrait immediately after his return from his journey to Italy, so much discussed by scholars, for it is the most mediaeval in spirit of his portraits.

This is the portrait of Fouquet’s that most strongly reflects the spirit of the Renaissance. The subject of the portrait was a powerful lord, the Chancellor of France of both Charles VII and Louis XI, one of the leading notabilities of France. The background, composed of Renaissance architecture with lavish gilded panellings inlaid with marble fillings displays an Italian influence. Against this background the monumental figure of the Chancellor kneels in prayer before a lectern, on which a great folio lies open on a cushion of red, white and yellow stripes. The red of his robe, trimmed with brown fur at the neck and sleeves, is reflected in the heavy, fleshy face of the Chancellor, on his thin lips, and on the head, which combines an overall impression of strength, intelligence and extraordinary dignity. The decorative harmony of the red and gold in which his head is framed only serves to enhance the imposing effect of the whole figure. With this portrait Fouquet earns his place as a fit contemporary of the great masters of the Italian Quattrocento, Andrea Mantegna, Piero della Francesca and Antonello da Messina.

The picture on folio 1 shows Louis XI, King of France and the members of the St Michael Order established by the King in 1469 at Amboise. In the background on the wall a painting represents the battle of St Michael, in the foreground the dogs symbolize the fidelity. The coat-of-arms of the king can be seen between two angels.

The miniaturist of this page was probably Jean Fouquet.

The picture on folio 1 shows Louis XI, King of France and the members of the St Michael Order established by the King in 1469 at Amboise. In the background on the wall a painting represents the battle of St Michael, in the foreground the dogs symbolize the fidelity. The coat-of-arms of the king can be seen between two angels.

The miniaturist of this page was probably by Jean Fouquet.

This small circular self-portrait was executed on copper covered on one side with black enamel with the portrait painted in gold with scratched-out lines for some of the facial features. This strange technique was known in Italy, but it was also practiced in Limoges.

In this illumination the building of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem is vividly presented with workers engaged in the activities of the medieval mason’s lodge.