Jacquard de Esden

Jacquard was born in Artois . Esden, from whose name the artist received his nickname, is a fortress on the lands of the modern department of Pas de Calais (at that time it was part of Flanders and the possession of the Dukes of Burgundy). It is possible that Jacquard was born there. He was one of the many Dutch artists who, since the mid-14th century, have been commissioned by the French royal house. The only known customer of Jacquard is Jean Berry (1340-1416), the younger brother of the French king Charles V ^[1] , who spent huge sums on his collection of works of art.

For the most part, Jacquard lived and worked in Bourges , where the main residence of Jean Berry was located. He worked on the orders of the Duke from 1384 to 1414. Since 1384, Jacquard de Eden received regular maintenance from the treasury of the duke. It is known that the miniatures of Jacquard de Eden adorn the Small Watch ( Petites Heures , National Library , Paris ) ^[2] , Brussels or the Fine Watch ( Tres Bellers Heures , Royal Library in Brussels ), and the Great Watch ( Grandes Heures , National Library, Paris). Of these, the Grand Hourglass is considered the artist's main work. The inventory of 1413 says about him:

... a very large, very beautiful and luxurious watch book, wonderfully designed and decorated with miniatures of Jacquard de Eden and other “workers” of the duke. It includes a clock dedicated to our beloved Virgin, the Holy Cross, the Holy Spirit, passions and once again the Holy Spirit, as well as memorial prayers ^[3] .

The manuscript has not been preserved to this day in its entirety. Jacquard de Eden performed for her large miniatures (400x300 mm), of which only the scene of the Carrying the Cross (1409, now stored in the Louvre) remained. The great hour book was completed in 1419 and valued at 4,000 pounds.

Jacquard de Eden worked at the second stage of the design of the Lesser Watch, taking the baton, probably from Jean Le Noire . According to the assumption of Millard Meiss , two more anonymous masters worked on the watch-book - the Trinity Master and the Pseudo-Jacquard ^[4] . Later , the Limburg brothers added a miniature with an image of the Duke of Berry, who was about to travel. Some miniatures are also attributed to Jacquard de Eden (created c. 1386) from the Psalms of the Duke of Berry (National Library, Paris, Ms. fr. 13091) ^[5]

According to the definition of Ann Granbulan, Jacquard "demonstrates a certain skill in the image of space, showing in such a way that he learned the lessons of the Siena school" ^[1] . Combining the achievements of Italian painting and the realism characteristic of artists of northern Europe, he adhered to a more natural manner of performance, in contrast to the idealized art of Jean Piusel ^[1] . In addition to miniatures, Jacquard performed decor elements of manuscripts - frames with animal figures and plant motifs ^[6] .

• Caselle R., Rathofer I. The luxurious oracle of the Duke of Berry. - M .: White City, 2002 .-- 248 p. - (Treasures of world culture). - 2,000 copies. - ISBN 5-7793-0495-5 .