The Transfiguration from the Coëtivy Hours

Dunois Master, attributed to

Folio with three-quarter page miniature from a book of hours attributed to the Dunois Master, written in Latin and French in a bastarda script, made in Paris and dated 1443–1445. It was commissioned by Prigent de Coëtivy (1399?–1450) on the occasion of his marriage to Marie de Rais (1429–1457). Removed from the bound volume between 1933 and 1960. Beneath rubrics in red, a prayer to God the Father opens with the illuminated initial 'D' (Domine deus omnipotens ego humiliter te adoro tu es rex regum) painted with white, red, blue and gold ivy-leaf ornament. The miniature is painted in demi-grisaille with pigments and gold and depicts the Transfiguration. According to the Synoptic Gospels, Peter, James and John witnessed the miracle of the transformation of Jesus into radiant light, his face shone like the sun and his garments were white as snow. Jesus, wearing the papal tiara, is flanked by Moses (holding his tablets) and the prophet Elijah. When the voice of God rang out, identifying Jesus as his son, the three apostles fell to the ground. In the lower margin, three figures kneel in prayer. On the right a bird eats a strawberry, on the left a bird pecks at a blue cornflower. The figures in the lower margin are replace on the verso with children playing, one with a wheel and stick, the other chasing a butterfly with a net.