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click to zoomStockholm-Kassel Book of Hours  before 1522
Courtesy of the Royal Library, Stockholm

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click to zoomGebetbuch des Herzogs Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg  (Prayerbook of Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg) 15671569
Miniatures from Stockholm-Kassel Book of Hours
40 Ms. math. et art. 50
Courtesy of the University Library Kassel

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Royal Library
Stockholm
Sweden
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University Library
Kassel
Germany

Stockholm-Kassel Book of Hours
The von Mecklenburg Prayer Book

16th century

In late medieval times, ‘Books of Hours’ contained prayers for the canonical hours of the day, such as Matins and Vespers. These books were often gorgeously illuminated with gold or silver and rich colours made from substances such as plant extracts, cinnabar (a red mercury ore), malachite and ultramarine (made from lapis lazuli). The illustrations chiefly represented religious subjects but also included scenes of daily life, or borders with flowers, animals or mythical beasts.

Simon Bening (1483–1561) was one of the most skilled and famous illuminators of his time. Not all the miniatures in the Stockholm Hours were by Simon Bening, but the image of the 'Last Supper' shown here can be firmly attributed to him. His work is characterised by the small hands and rounded heads of his figures, and, more importantly, by his portrayal of emotion on their faces, his accurate rendition of the texture of cloth and his skill in representing perspective in landscape. These qualities made his work very attractive and explains why so many of his full-page miniatures were removed from their original volumes. At some stage the binding of the Stockholm-Kassel Book of Hours was opened and many of the miniatures were removed.

Melchior Pfinczing held a group of these until his death in 1535, when they passed to Cardinal Albrecht von Brandenburg and thence to his nephew, Herzog Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg. Between 1567 and 1569, von Mecklenburg had them bound with some other miniatures by other artists. This composite volume is known as the Gebetbuch des Herzogs Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg.

These two volumes are particularly interesting. The relationship between the two is clearly demonstrated by the images shown here: one is from the Stockholm-Kassel Book of Hours, and the other from the Gebetbuch des Herzogs Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg.