Annunciation to the Shepherds from a Book of Hours (use of Rouen)

Master of Jean Charpentier

Parchment folio from a Book of Hours written and illuminated between 1485 and 1490 in the Rouen workshop of the Master of the Echevinage, in collaboration with artist workshops in Tours. This illumination is attributed to the Master of Jean Charpentier. A night scene, illuminated by heavenly light from above and a camp figure below. A group of shepherds and shepherdesses in a landscape, some holding staffs and one playing the bagpipes, are visited by an angel announcing the birth of Jesus. A city is depicted across a waterway in the background. DUES IN ADIUTORIUM ME[EM] is written on the golden architectural frame, introducing Terce of the Virgin. The text on the recto concludes Prime of the Virgin. Two two-line decorative initials introduce different sections of text, one depicts a bird, the other a snail.