# The Black Hours [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MINIATURIST, Flemish]() - Date: 1451-1500 - Technique: Manuscript \(M. 493\), 170 x 120 mm \(each\) ## Commentary The Black Hours c. 1475 Manuscript \(M. 493\), 170 x 120 mm \(each\) The Morgan Library and Museum, New York Manuscripts completely immersed in black tint and written upon in gold and silver script occurred rarely in the history of illumination - indeed, only seven examples of this kind have come down to us. They can all be dated to the third quarter of the 15th century and located in Bruges. Because of their precious materials and an extended production phase, black tinted manuscripts must have been prized considerably higher than conventional manuscripts. The parchment had to be immersed in an iron-copper solution in order to obtain the black colour, and only lead white or gold and silver ink could be used for the script. The Black Hours in the Pierpont Morgan Library is the best preserved of all black manuscripts. Conservators were able to keep the manuscript in codex form up to the present day. A particular feature of this devotional book is the blue ground of the numerous large borders, which contributes considerably to the overall colouristic impression. On these pages, the black tint is limited to the text block and a narrow space between the borders and the edges of the leaves. The miniatures are attributed to the close circle of the Flemish painter Willem Vrelant \(active 1449-1481\), one of the most influential illuminators working in Bruges during the third quarter of the 15th century. The open double page \(folios 18v and 19r\) shows the unusual overall effect that is generated by using the technique of fixing an illumination on a piece of black dyed parchment. The miniature on the left-hand side depicts the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The initial D on the right appears at the beginning of the Hours of the Holy Spirit, thus introducing the feast of Pentecost. ## Related artworks - [Apocalypse]() - [Boccaccio: Des cas des ruynes des nobles hommes et femmes]() - [Boethius: De consolatione philosophiae]() - [Book of Hours \(La Flora\)]() - [Book of Hours \(La Flora\)]() - [Book of Hours of Isabella of Castile]() - [Book of Hours of Isabella of Castile]() - [Book of Hours of Marie of Gueldern]() - [Book of Hours of Marie of Gueldern]() - [Book of Hours]() - [Book of Hours]() - [Book of Hours]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()