Image Details

Walters Art Gallery, MS. W. 288, FOL. 81

“Coronation Of The Virgin.” The centerpiece of the Book of Hours, the Hours of the Virgin are made up of psalms and prayers to be recited at seven specified hours of the day. This particularly lush illumination illustrates Compline, the final Hour of the day’s prayer. The Virgin Mary kneels before Christ who offers his Mother benediction. Angels assist by presenting Mary with her crown, holding her train, and offering musical entertainment. Medallions in the border illustrate significant events in the infancy of Jesus: Christ’s Presentation in the Temple (top), the Flight into Egypt (center), and the Fall of the Pagan Idols (bottom). The painting is by an illuminator active in Paris during the second quarter of the 15th century whose nickname is the “Master of the Munich Golden Legend” (after a manuscript of that text in the Bavarian State Library).