David in prayer 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. The Seven Penitential Psalms (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129 and 142) follow the Mixed Hours. This section opens with the illuminated initial 'D' (Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me) painted with white, red, blue and gold ivy-leaf ornament. The miniature is painted in demi-grisaille with pigments and gold and depicts King David in prayer, the alleged author of the psalms. The repentant king kneels in an enclosed courtyard, a vestibule before him displays his harp and an open book. God wears the Papal Tiara, appearing beneath a canopy surrounded by angels and red and gold seraphim. In the margins, David spies on Bathsheba as she baths. Above this, David sends Bathsheba's husband to the front lines, assuring his death. Bathsheba does not appear on the verso, but rather only David playing his harp before a lectern with open book, God looks down from the upper margin. A bird is added to the left.