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KLARA H. BROEKHUIJSEN, The Masters of the Dark Eyes. Late Medieval Manuscript Painting in Holland, Turnhout 2009 (Brepols), VIII + 472 p., 141 b/w ill. + 40 colour ill., € 125,00.
This study deals with the work of the most prolific Dutch book illuminators, the so-called Masters of the Dark Eyes, named after the most conspicuous aspect of their style: the dark, heavily accentuated shadows round the eyes of the figures. With their elaborately illuminated manuscripts, these masters completely dominated book production in the County of Holland during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Their work is characterized by an overwhelming wealth of decorative and pictorial richness, which is especially evident in the unusually ornate programmes of the Books of Hours, and a new type of border decoration derived from the Ghent-Bruges School. This style of painting was practised by many artists of differing talents, as demonstrated by the large number of surviving manuscripts. Not all of the illuminators worked in Holland. Some of them settled in the Southern Netherlands, others emigrated to England, where they illuminated manuscripts for members of the English court.
This monograph seeks to order, analyze and evaluate the work of the Masters of the Dark Eyes, and to position their achievements within the context of book illumination in the Northern Netherlands during the “Waning of the Middle Ages”. It explores a virtually uncharted territory of Dutch manuscript painting. The accompanying descriptive catalogue provides complementary information on more than 70 manuscripts, many of which have never been published at length before. The work is illustrated with a wide selection of colour and black-and-white reproductions.
Contents
Acknowledgements (pp. VII-VIII); Introduction (pp. 1-7)
I. Style (pp. 9-24):
General characteristics; The Bezborodko Group; The Marciana Group; The Croesinck Group; The Chillicothe Group; The Robinson Group; The English Group; The Southern Group
II. The Decoration Programmes (pp. 25-48):
Introduction; The book of hours; Dutch books of hours, c. 1400 – c. 1475/80; Dutch books of hours, c. 1475/80- c. 1510; Books of hours with illumination by the Masters of the Dark Eyes; Additional texts; The Prayer books; Prayer books with illumination by the Masters of the Dark Eyes; Liturgical manuscripts; Liturgical manuscripts with illumination by the Masters of the Dark Eyes; Other manuscripts with illumination by the Masters of the Dark Eyes
III. The Compositions: Tradition and Innovation (pp. 49-69):
Introduction; Models and sources of inspiration for the Masters of the Dark Eyes; Borrowings from prints; Dutch manuscript painting; Southern Netherlandish manuscript painting: Panel painting; Unusual subjects; The Zodiacal Man; The Legend of the Grateful Dead; The Legend of the Institution of the Rosary; The Holy Kinship; The Fall of the rebel Angels; The Tree of Jesse; Summary and conclusions
IV. Dating and Localization (pp. 71-77):
Introduction; Dating; Localization
Catalogue of manuscripts (pp. 79-269); Miscellaneous (pp. 271-272); Bibliography (pp. 273-284)
Indexes (pp. 285-297):
Manuscripts; Illuminators; Painters; Engravers and Scribes; Texts illuminated by Masters of the Dark Eyes
Iconographic Index (pp. 298-310); Photographic Credits (p. 311); Illustrations (pp. 313-438); and Plates (pp. 439-472).
The books has been reviewed by Marta Bigus in Kunstform, 13, 2012, n. 1 (click here).