Fountain of Living Waters 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. Following the calendar, Gospel lessons and Passion story are the mixed Hours of the Virgin (8), Holy Cross (7) and Holy Spirit (7). Beneath rubrics in blue, None of the Holy Spirit opens with the illuminated initial 'D' (Deus in adiutorium meum intende) painted with white, red, blue and gold ivy-leaf ornament. The miniature is painted in demi-grisaille with pigments and gold and depicts the Fountain of Life (fonte aqua vite), a symbol of baptism. A group of apostles drink and wash from the fountain beneath the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. More disciples appear in the margins, with one washing his hands in a stream flowing from the fountain. On the verso, the number of figures is reduced to three. A bird is added on the left, a dove appears in the upper margin, and a butterfly on the right.