The Prayer Book of Claude de France
Curator Roger Wieck explores the images and iconography in the Prayer Book of Claude de France, discussing selected illustrations in depth.
The Prayer Book of Claude de France is a tiny, jewel-like manuscript that was made for Claude (1499–1524) around 1517, the year she was crowned queen of France. Her coat of arms appears on three different folios. The book is richly illustrated: the borders of each leaf are painted, front and back, with 132 scenes from the lives of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and numerous saints. The manuscript and a companion Book of Hours also made for the queen (in a Swiss private collection) were illuminated by an artist who was given the nickname Master of Claude de France after these two volumes. Active in the French city of Tours during the first quarter of the sixteenth century, the artist worked in a style that can be characterized as the pinnacle of elegance. The colors of his delicate palette are applied in tiny, seemingly invisible brushstrokes. Only about a dozen manuscripts painted by the artist survive.
In 1514, at age fourteen, Claude de France was married to François d'Angoulême (1494–1547), who became King François I in 1515. The marriage was political: Claude was duchess of Brittany, a duchy the king wanted to keep under his control. Short and hunched, Claude still managed to provide seven children (her second son became King Henry II) in ten years of marriage before dying of exhaustion at age twenty-four.
Also viewable on this Web site is the Prayer Book of Anne de Bretagne. Anne (1477–1514) was Claude's mother. She was queen of France twice, first as the wife of King Charles VIII and then as the wife of King Louis XII, who was Claude's father. Anne commissioned her book around 1495 for her son the dauphin, Charles-Orland (who died of smallpox shortly thereafter). Anne's manuscript was illuminated by Jean Poyer, a leading Tours illuminator in whose workshop the Claude Master is thought to have trained. These two codices thus juxtapose a mother's book with her daughter's and the work of one illuminator with that of his protégé.
The Prayer Book of Claude de France (MS M.1166) is the gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008.
This exhibition is made possible through the generosity of Gifford Combs.
Christie's is the corporate sponsor.
Photography by Schecter Lee
Thumbnails
MS M.1166, fol. 1
Bookplate of Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, designed by Pablo Picasso (inside front cover) and St. John on Patmos (fol. 1)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 1v–2
St. John Resuscitating a Corpse (fol. 1v, left) and St. John Survives the Cup of Poison (fol. 2, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 2v–3
St. Luke Writing, Preaching, and Painting a Portrait of the Virgin Mary (fol. 2v, left) and St. Luke Preaching (fol. 3, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 3v–4
St. Matthew Writing and St. Matthew Overcoming Dragons (fol. 3v, left) and Martyrdom of St. Matthew (fol. 4, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 4v–5
Martyrdom of St. Mark (fol. 4v, left) and St. Mark Writing and St. Mark's Corpse Protected by a Storm (fol. 5, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 5v–6
Burial of St. Mark (fol. 5v, left) and Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, with the coat of arms of Queen Claude de France in the lower border (fol. 6, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 6v–7
Christ Purges the Temple (fol. 6v, left) and Christ's Agony in the Garden (fol. 7, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 7v–8
Arrest of Christ (fol. 7v, left) and Christ Before Annas (fol. 8, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 8v–9
Christ Before Caiaphas (fol. 8v, left) and Mocking of Christ (fol. 9, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 10v–11
Christ Before Pilate (fol. 9v, left) and Christ Before Herod (fol. 10, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 10v–11
Flagellation of Christ (fol. 10v, left) and Christ Crowned with Thorns (fol. 11, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 11v–12
Ecce Homo (Pilate Exhibits Christ to the People; fol. 11v, left) and Pilate Washes His Hands and Dismisses Christ (fol. 12, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 12v–13
Christ Carrying the Cross (fol. 12v, left) and Christ Nailed to the Cross (fol. 13, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 13v–14
Crucifixion (fol. 13v, left) and Deposition (fol. 14, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 14v–15
Entombment (fol. 14v, left) and Resurrection (fol. 15, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 15v–16
Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist, with the coat of arms of Queen Claude de France in the lower border (fol. 15v, left) and Annunciation to Joachim (fol. 16, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 16v–17
Joachim and Anne Meeting at the Golden Gate (fol. 16v, left) and Birth of the Virgin Mary (fol. 17, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 17v–18
Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple (fol. 17v, left) and Marriage of the Virgin Mary and Joseph (fol. 18, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 18v–19
Annunciation, with the coat of arms of Queen Claude de France in the lower border (fol. 18v, left) and Visitation (fol. 19, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 19v–20
Nativity (fol. 19v, left) and Circumcision (fol. 20, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 20v–21
Adoration of the Magi (fol. 20v, left) and Presentation in the Temple (fol. 21, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 21v–22
Flight into Egypt (fol. 21v, left) and Rest on the Flight from Egypt (fol. 22, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 22v–23
Christ Among the Doctors (fol. 22v, left) and Death of the Virgin Mary (fol. 23, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 23v–24
Assumption of the Virgin Mary (fol. 23v, left) and Coronation of the Virgin Mary (fol. 24, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 24v–25
Trinity Adored by the Choirs of Angels (fols. 24v–25)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 25v–26
God the Father and God the Son (fols. 25v–26)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 26v–27
God the Holy Spirit (fol. 26v, left) and St. Veronica with the Vera Icon and St. Amadour Preaching (fol. 27, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 27v–28
SS. Amadour and Veronica Displaying the Vera Icon (fol. 27v, left) and St. Michael with a Sword and St. Michael Battling a Demon (fol. 28, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 28v–29
St. John the Baptist with the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and The Decapitation of St. John the Baptist (fol. 28v, left) and St. John with the Cup of Poison and St. John Led to the Cauldron of Boiling Oil (fol. 29, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 29v–30
SS. Peter with a Book and Paul with a Sword and The Decapitation of SS. Peter and Paul (fol. 29v, left) and St. James in Pilgrim's Attire and The Miraculous Transport of St. James's Corpse by Wild Oxen (fol. 30, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 30v–31
St. Andrew with His Cross and St. Andrew Preaching (fol. 30v, left) and Crucifixion of St. Andrew (fol. 31, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 31v–32
SS. Philip with a Cross and James the Minor with a Fuller's Bat and St. Philip Banishing the Serpent Worshipped by the Citizens of Hierapolis (fol. 31v, left) and St. Denis Holding His Decapitated Head and The Decapitation of St. Denis and His Companions (fol. 32, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 32v–33
St. Christopher Carrying Christ (fol. 32v, left) and St. Christopher Surviving the Torture of the Red-Hot Seat (fol. 33, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 33v–34
St. Sebastian Shot with Arrows (fol. 33v, left) and St. Sebastian Clubbed to Death (fol. 34, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 34v–35
St. Roch's Bubo Tended by an Angel (fol. 34v, left) and St. Nicholas Restoring the Three Pickled Youths and The Innkeeper Killing the Three Sleeping Youths (fol. 35, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 35v–36
St. Claude Consecrated Bishop (fol. 35v, left) and St. Claude Resuscitating a Corpse (fol. 36, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 36v–37
St. Anthony in the Desert (fol. 36v, left) and St. Louis Giving Alms (fol. 37, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 37v–38
Stigmatization of St. Francis (fol. 37v, left) and St. Martin Blessing and St. Martin Preparing to Divide His Cloak (fol. 38, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 38v–39
St. Martin Visited by the Virgin Mary and Other Saints (fol. 38v, left) and St. Julian Blessing and St. Julian Miraculously Providing Water for Le Mans (fol. 39, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 39v–40
St. René with Crosier and Book and St. René Resuscitating a Dead Child (fol. 39v, left) and St. Jerome with Cross and Book and St. Jerome in Penance (fol. 40, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 40v–41
Death of St. Jerome (fol. 40v, left) and St. Hubert with Hunting Horns and St. Hubert Adoring the Miraculous Stag (fol. 41, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 41v–42
St. Anthony and the Miracle of the Mule Adoring the Host (fol. 41v, left) and St. Anne Teaching the Virgin Mary and The Annunciation to St. Anne (fol. 42, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 42v–43
St. Mary Magdalene with the Jar of Ointment and The Levitation of St. Mary Magdalene (fol. 42v, left) and St. Martha with Aspergillum and Book and St. Martha Leading the Tarasque (fol. 43, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 43v–44
St. Catherine with a Sword and St. Catherine Surviving the Torture Wheels (fol. 43v, left) and St. Margaret Emerging from the Dragon and The Decapitation of St. Margaret (fol. 44, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 44v–45
St. Barbara with Tower and Palm and St. Barbara Tortured (fol. 44v, left) and Decapitation of St. Barbara (fol. 45, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 45v–46
St. Apollonia with Pincers and Tooth and St. Apollonia Having Her Teeth Extracted (fol. 45v, left) and St. Geneviève Praying and St. Geneviève's Candle Miraculously Surviving a Demon's Bellows (fol. 46, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 46v–47
St. Ursula with Her 11,000 Virgin Martyrs (fol. 46v–47)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 47v–48
St. Helena with the True Cross (fol. 47v, left) and St. Susanna Reading and St. Susanna Spied Upon by the Elders (fol. 48, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 48v–49
All Saints (fols. 48v–49)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 49v–50
The Virgin Mary Appears to St. Bernard (fols. 49v–50)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 50v–51
Mass of St. Gregory (fol. 50v, left) and St. Gregory Administering the Church (fol. 51, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fols. 51v–52
Angel Holding the Crown of Thorns (fol. 51v, left) and Angel Holding the Host (fol. 52, right)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee
MS M.1166, fol. 52v
Exposition of the Eucharist (fol. 52v)
Illuminated by the Master of Claude de France
Prayer Book of Queen Claude de France
Gift of Mrs. Alexandre P. Rosenberg in memory of her husband Alexandre Paul Rosenberg, 2008
Photography by Schecter Lee