Illuminated Miniature, C15th | St John the Evangelist blessing the poisoned Chalice, miniature on a leaf probably from a Book of Hours [Spain (Valencia or Toledo), c.1475]

St John the Evangelist blessing the poisoned Chalice, miniature on a leaf probably from a Book of Hours [Spain (Valencia or Toledo), c.1475]

illuminated single leaf, 135 x 89 mm, vellum, tempera and gold on vellum, from a Book of Hours by the Spanish follower of Jan van Eyck, Valencia or Toledo, 3rd quarter of the 15th century showing St John the Evangelist perhaps for the Gospel extract or a suffrage to St John the Evangelist, reverse blank, border slightly cut to the outer edge of the inner three-sided frame; the lower frame affected by water damage, some pigment losses, the figure of St John mostly not affected and in fine condition.

ARTISTIC EXCHANGE: AN UNPUBLISHED WORK BY VALENCIAN PAINTER PEDRO JUAN BALLESTER

Surrounded by a Mediterranean landscape is the figure of St John the Evangelist, clothed in a burgundy cloak over a velvety blue tunic. His right hand is raised in blessing while his left holds a chalice containing a dragon, in allusion to the miracle of the poisoned chalice, where the Evangelist was forced to drink poison to prove his faith. Before he was able to drink the poison, it was transformed into a harmless snake, leaving St John unharmed.

The miniature is very delicately painted revealing the artist’s intimate familiarity with the work of the Van Eyck brothers, eponymous Netherlandish illuminators of the 15^th century. Particularly, the rendering of the face and the elegant conception of the textile drapery are reminiscent of their eponymous work. Close parallels can be found among the singing angels in the Ghent altarpiece; St John's raised hand with the crossed index and middle fingers corresponds exactly to the same saint's gesture as shown on the reverse of one of the wings painted in grisaille.

This miniature is an unpublished work by the Valencian painter Pedro Juan Ballester who illuminated a Missal in Valencia (Cathedral Archive, Cod. 97) dated 1479, and contributed the only full-page miniature to a Missal in Toledo (Cathedral Archive, Res.1) made for Alfonso Carrillo, Archbishop of Toledo from 1446 to 1482 (Bosch 2000). The present miniature is especially close to Ballester's Crucifixion in the Toledo Missal. While his Valencian career is well documented, there is a gap between the years 1474 and 1479 which indicates that Ballester was working elsewhere during this period. The Carrillo Missal was presumably illuminated in Toledo, which would explain where Ballester went during his absence from Valencia.

This is a beautifully rendered miniature which palpably embodies the interchange of artistic achievements between the Low Countries and the Spanish Empire.

PROVENANCE

Spain, Private Collection, 2009

LITERATURE

See L. Bosch, Art, Liturgy, and Legend in Renaissance Toledo, 2000, pp.130-34.