France, Paris / c. 1375
The Gotha Missal
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs The Gotha Missal as bound volume (France, Paris · c. 1375).
The artist received his name because of his tendency to draw trees that resembled little mushrooms.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this bound volume as ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; blind-tooled leather binding and credits Master of the Boqueteaux (French).
The museum's collection notes: The style and quality of this manuscript's decoration is typical of deluxe Parisian books made for aristocratic or royal patrons. Most of the book's decoration appears to be the work of the Master of the Boqueteaux, an artist active at the court of King Charles V (died 1380). His style was apparently shared by a number of book illuminators working in and around Paris. It is very possible that the Gotha Missal belonged to Charles V, but is not provable because the manuscript has no royal portraits and lacks a colophon. Given the book's magnificent decoration, however, it would seem that it was produced for a Valois prince, if not for the king
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtThe Gotha MissalOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.