Western European Book Miniatures

Including 32 items, the collection of miniatures occupies an important place in the Hermitage collection of drawings. It consists mainly of illuminated medieval manuscripts. The most interesting items are French manuscripts: a 14th-century Book of Hours, La Boetie's On Consolation (mid-16th century), Gaston de Foix's Livre de Chasse (1381), and Le Roman de la Rose (early 16th century). Also of great interest is the Italian prayer-book (1524) which was a wedding present from Pope Clement VII to Catherine de' Medici. Among the miscellaneous items is an outstanding series, part of the codex of the epic poem De Secundo Bello Punici Poema (gouache and gold leaf on parchment), created by the Florentine Francesco Pesellino (1422-1457). The items from this series are remarkable for their refined contours, intensity of colour and thoroughness in depicting details. Such is, for example, The Allegory of Rome representing a woman in a dress flying in the wind, holding a sceptre and orb in her hands, standing against a background of the sea, distant mountains and a castle.