Old look illuminated manuscript Renaissance Bona Sforza’s Prayer Book

Bona Sforza’s Prayer Book

This miniature is hand painted high quality reproduction of illuminated manuscript leaf of Bona Sforza’s Prayer Book

Story: 

The original book was made for Bona Sforza, wife of Sigismund I, King of Poland, who arrived from Italy in 1518. The five most beautiful pictures of the richly decorated book, depicting scenes from the childhood of Christ, were executed by an artist with monogram S.C. (Stanislaus Claratumbensis). This artist was influenced by the engravings of the masters of the Danube school (Dürer, Altdorfer, Cranach) and he used also Italian Renaissance elements

Queen Bona Sforza

Polish queen, wife of Sigismund I the Old from the Jagiellonian dynasty. She was the daughter of the Milanese prince Giangaleazza Sforza and the Neapolitan princess Isabella of Aragon. Her father was murdered when she was eight months old; she spent her childhood first at the court of her uncle, who killed her dad, and then wandering around Italy together with her mother. Only at the age of eight did she settle with her mother in Bari, which Isabella received from the Habsburgs. The girl was brought up to be the future ruler. Through the Emperor, Maximilian I Habsburg, in 1515 Bona’s hand was offered to the newly widowed king of Poland. Bona arrived in her new homeland at the beginning of 1518, and on the 18th of the month her wedding and coronation took place.

She was an ambitious, active and extremely thrifty ruler. Thanks to the skilful management of the estates received from her husband, she quickly made a huge personal fortune, acquiring over two hundred villages and a dozen or so towns in the Crown alone. She also exerted a significant influence on the country’s politics, so that the second decade of her stay in Poland is even said to be the period of co-rule of Sigismund and Bona. in 1556 she left Poland, taking a large part of her private, movable property. Already in Italy, she lent the enormous sum of 430,000 ducats to the Viceroy of Naples – and thus to the Habsburgs whom he represented. She died just over a year later, poisoned by the Habsburg agent Jan Wawrzyniec Pappacoda.

This item is an original watercolor and acrylic painting on the real goatskin parchment painted by professional miniaturist. 

This reproduction is depicting a scene from the Bona Sforza’s Prayer Book, Renaissance illuminated manuscript 15th century. In original book, miniatures were painted by the Polish illuminator Stanisław Samostrzelnik (Stanislaus Claratumbensis)

• Materials: Hand made Goatskin parchment 
• Medium: Acrylic golden paint, watercolor paint
• Style: Renaissance
• Genres:  Books of hours; Illuminated manuscripts; Miniatures (Illuminations)
• Size: The A4 size measures 21.0 x 29.7cm, (8.3 x 11.7 inches). There is no glass, no frame. 
• Originality: Museum grade hand painted reproduction.

This beautiful artwork is in stock and ready to ship. 

Please note: colors on your computer screen may look different from real thing

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