Anne of Brittany Receiving a Manuscript

This miniature depicts Anne of Brittany receiving from Antoine Dufour the manuscript praising famous women.

The ornate manuscript presented to Anne of Brittany by Antoine Dufour, Les vies des femmes c�l�bres was written in 1504 then illuminated by Jean Pichore, Parisian artist, by 1506. Dufour states in his prologue that Anne commissioned the manuscript, but beyond this detail, the role of the queen played in the production remains unknown. We are unable to ascertain, for example, if Anne specified how Dufour was to represent the women in his text or which women he was to include. A careful investigation of both the text and the images of the manuscript shows that the author and the artist coordinated their work and that the individuals involved in the production of the codex translated and adapted multiple sources in constructing their manuscript for the queen.