Gospel Book

MAINZ: ECCLESIASTICAL CAPITAL AND CRADLE OF PRINTING

The Evangelist portraits in this Gospel book have traditionally been attributed to the so-called Housebook Master. However, this artistic personality is better understood as a group of artists active along the Middle Rhine. Their miniatures respond to developments in contemporary panel painting, particularly from Flanders, as demonstrated in this portrait of the evangelist Matthew, which features a clearly constructed space with receding floor tiles and obliquely placed objects that cast shadows. Also telling in this regard is the absence of extensive border decoration. By the mid-fifteenth century, manuscript illumination had to compete not only with panel painting but also with printing.