AUTHOR PORTRAITURE in the HOURS of CATHERINE of CLEVES by CAROLINE MARTELON B.A

DEVOTED CHRISTIAN, DOMINANT DUCHESS, DIMINISHED HISTORICAL RECOGNITION: AUTHOR PORTRAITURE IN THE HOURS OF CATHERINE OF CLEVES by CAROLINE MARTELON B.A. University of Colorado Boulder 2019 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Fine Arts Department of Art & Art History 2019 i This thesis entitled: Devoted Christian, Dominant Duchess, Diminished Historical Recognition: Author Portraiture in the Hours of Catherine of Cleves written by Caroline Martelon has been approved for the Department of Art and Art History Date Dr. Kirk Ambrose Dr. Diane Conlin Dr. Annette de Stecher The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. ii Martelon, Caroline (M. A. Department of Art History) Devoted Christian, Dominant Duchess, Diminished Historical Recognition: Author Portraiture in the Hours of Catherine of Cleves Thesis directed by Professor Kirk Ambrose ABSTRACT Owner portraits often appear in the illuminations or historiated initials of the popular late-medieval devotional, the book of hours. By the 13 th century, a text known as the book of hours had filled a much sought-after longing of the laity to mimic the practices of the clergy. Through the production of this new lay prayer book, the practice of monastic communities gathering at canonical hours to recite prayers could now be practiced individually by lay people. These prayer books were often commissioned for, and at times by, women. This paper will discuss one specific book of hours, commissioned by a 15 th century Duchess, Catherine of Cleves. The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, illuminated by the Master of Catherine of Cleves, a famously original artist recognized as the finest illuminator of the medieval northern Netherlands, is a masterpiece. The incredibly detailed miniatures display not only a unique and lavish display of biblical narrative, but the author portraits and full pages on which they appear offer a very personal look into the life and priorities of its owner and commissioner, Catherine of Cleves. This paper seeks to explore the leaves of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves where her portrait appears. I examine the purposeful prominence of feminine themes as well as emphasis on her personal heraldry and ancestors, rather than that of her husband. These purposeful emphases support that Catherine was not only the commissioner, but also involved in artistic decisions surrounding key images included in her book of hours. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1 Catherine of Cleves, the Pious ......................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 2: Catherine of Cleves, the Political Power ....................................................... 43 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................ 56 FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................... 58 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................ 84 APPENDIX ....................................................................................................................................... 88 iv List of Figures 1.1 Catherine of Cleves Praying to the Virgin and Child, ca.1440 1.2 Female donor venerating Madonna, Workshop of the Boucicaut Master, c.1409. 1.3 Hours of Isabella Stuart, Isabella before Virgin Mary and Child, c.1417-18 1.4 Eyck, Jan van, Madonna with Child Reading 1.6 Eyck, Jan van, Madonna with Child Reading (Ince Hall Madonna), 1433 1.7 Eyck, Jan van, 1390-1440, Madonna in her Chamber, 1435-36 1.8 Jan Van Eyck, Madonna with Canon Joris van der Paele (La Vierge au chanoine Van der Paele.), detail of the Virgin Mary and Christ, 1436 1.9 Catherine of Cleves Distributing Alms, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440 1.10 Pentecost, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440 1.11 Annunciation, Visitation (Hand Three), Christina Psalter, 13 th Century 1.12 Figure 1 Catherine of Cleves Praying to the Virgin and Child, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440. 1.13 The Virgin Mary and the Crucified Christ Intercede for Catherine of Cleves, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440. 1.14 Adoration of the Magi, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440 1.15 Detail: The Virgin Mary and the Crucified Christ Intercede for Catherine of Cleves, The The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440 1.16 Detail: Catherine of Cleves Praying to the Virgin and Child, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440. 1.17 St. Nicholas, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440. 1.18 St. Leonard, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440 1.19 Tristan de Escamilla, St. Louis, King of France, King of France distributing alms, 17 th century 2.1 Arnold of Egmond, Catherine of Cleves’ Husband, Praying to Christ, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440 – 53 2.2 Catherine of Cleves Praying to the Virgin and Child and Annunciation to Joachim, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440 2.3 Hours of Mary of Burgundy, Mary of Burgundy reading her book of hours, Vienna, ON, MS 1857 2.4 Adolf of Egmond, Duke of Guelders, a knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece, 1468 2.5 Catherine of Cleves Distributing Alms, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440 2.6 DuBois Hours” for Sarum use, England, London, C. 1325-30 2.7 The Virgin Mary and the Crucified Christ Intercede for Catherine of Cleves, The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, ca. 1440. v INTRODUCTION “No age is sufficiently understood until the contributions of women are made evident; this is particularly true of the Middle Ages.” 1 Medieval manuscripts hold a unique place in the discipline of art history, largely because of their concurrent association with both literature and fine art. Unlike later oil paintings that retain their place in history through celebration of their extravagant size, most medieval manuscripts were not large-scale. The bestselling book of the late middle ages and the Renaissance was one of these small-scale manuscripts: The Book of Hours. To this day, the Book of Hours is the most frequent type of medieval manuscript to be found in academic institutions, rare book libraries, and auction houses all over the world. 2 Despite their small scale, miniatures in manuscripts are not in any way limited in their imaginative range, their intellectual content, or in the craftsmanship required to execute such images. In some cases, owners of these manuscripts used them on a daily basis by concurrently reading and actively contemplating the accompanying miniatures in a very personal manner. In many cases of extravagantly wealthy patrons these manuscripts can be referenced as examples of the strong cultural significance of memory in medieval culture, as demonstrated through well-curated and lavishly decorated images that show how they hoped to be remembered. All patrons of these devotionals were deeply concerned with the topic of memory, whether that be in the eyes of God or the eyes of man. Although illuminated manuscripts continue to be celebrated for their lofty decorative detailing and uniquely personal purpose, often the process of production for 1 Susan Mosher Stuard, ed., Women in Medieval Society (Philadelphia, 1976), 11. 2 Roger S Wieck, and Pierpont Morgan Library, Painted Prayers: The Book of Hours in Medieval and Renaissance Art (New York, 1997), 9. 1 individual manuscripts is one that is neither well documented, nor laboriously dwelled upon in much of the existing scholarship. Often scholarship favors the traditional visual analysis of full- page miniatures, and includes rich discussion surrounding visual contrast and ink detailing, but occasionally this comes at the expense of a deeper discussion of the background or secular implicit messaging the illuminations might be referencing. Although it is possible to look at manuscript production from a fairly mechanical point of view, I would like to build upon this practice, as more recent scholarship has encouraged, in reference to the 15 th century manuscript, the Hours of Catherine of Cleves through the marriage of visual analysis and close looking with reference to the existing history. In this thesis I argue that through the close analysis and comparison of owner portraiture in the Hours of Catherine of Cleves that it’s commissioner and patron, Catherine, had an active influence in the largely political themes of the miniatures that appear within the manuscript in order to curate how she was to be remembered. By offering a close analysis of the miniatures including Catherine’s portrait, supplemented by the miniatures I believe are designed to be considered in direct comparison to those portrait miniatures, I examine how the purposeful emphasis on strong feminine themes as well as conspicuous emphasis on her personal heraldry and ancestors, rather than those of her husband, directly relates to her personal life and her political loyalties. The extremely clear emphasis of her own heraldry and use of her portrait coupled with the noticeably infrequent inclusion of both the heraldry and image of her husband suggests

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