Miniatures

In this large format illumination, the upper portion of a leaf, a legal scene is depicted. Three figures, aligned horizontally and characterized by expressive gestures, appear to be engaged in debate within a clearly defined space. This stage-like setting, composed of simple elements, a corner bench and a floor, all in bright colors typical of Bolognese art, creates an illusion of perspective that is geometrical rather than natural. At the left stands an older man dressed in a red, fur-trimmed mantle and cap, holding a closed book that denotes his authority. At the center of the composition, stands a younger figure in blue and red, with the edge of his mantle thrown over his arm, in a gesture that suggests a rhetorical action. To the right, a youth, noticeably smaller than the others, carries three volumes, serving as an attendant or clerk.

 

The upper corner shows in red the inscription “.Cxxiii.” most likely an original foliation. The text at the verso is part of the Speculum Judiciale, the principal work of Guillaume Durand (Durandus), bishop of Mende, which he compiled between 1271 and 1276 (in its initial version) and revised periodically for the rest of his life. The Speculum Judiciale (a Mirror of Procedure) became the standard manual of Roman-canonical procedure during the later Middle Ages and circulated widely among jurists. During the fourteenth century, it was augmented with commentaries by Johannes Andreae (c. 1278–1348) and Baldus de Ubaldis (1327–1400). The Speculum consists of four books divided into parts, named particulae. The text at the verso includes a rubric: “Incipit prima particula, & primo de preparatoriis iudiciorum. Rubrica.” which allows us to situate our miniature at the opening of the second book of the Speculum. The scene can therefore be understood as a lawyer, accompanied by his assistant, presenting a case to an elderly doctor, an interpretation that aligns with earlier analyses. But more recently, Peter Kidd has proposed an interesting hypothesis, that the miniature represents Durandus discussing his work with his two followers, Giovanni d’Andrea and Baldus de Ubaldis. The smaller figure may be identified as Giovanni d’Andrea, whose exceptionally short stature, according to a well-known anecdote, led Pope Boniface VIII to believe he was kneeling, prompting the Pope to ask him repeatedly to stand up.

 

The style of the miniature unmistakably reflects its Bolognese origins, evident both in the use of vivid colors and in the expressive gestures of the figures, as expected for the illustration of a legal text. Several stylistic traits, notably the broad, sweeping draperies and the characteristically heavy eyelids, align this cutting with the production of the circle of Domenico Pagliarolo. His best known production, the Liber Iurium et Privilegiorum Notariorum, displays the same emphasis on firmly outlined figures animated within a setting defined by minimal furnishings, their gestures amplified to enhance the narrative action. It seems more difficult to retrace the influence of Crivelli in this miniature than on other later works of Domenico Pagliarolo.

 

A later pencil annotation on the verso, “7359 / Cat. Rosenberg n. 88,” allows us to trace the provenance back to Arthur Sambon (1867–1947), and subsequently to the Neapolitan bookdealer and bibliophile Tammaro De Marinis (1878–1969), who exhibited it in 1926 at the major international exhibition Le Livre italien and again in 1937 as an exemplary work representing the finest Italian Gothic illumination. In 1948, De Marinis gifted it to his close friend, Benedetto Croce (Petrella 2023), one of the most influential Italian intellectuals of the twentieth century. The distinguished provenance of this cutting further underscores its value as a testament to the lasting legacy of Bolognese jurisprudential illumination of the fourteenth century.

 

We are grateful to Peter Kidd and Federica Toniolo for their expertise.

  

Gaia Grizzi