Master of the Parement
Who was Master of the Parement?
French painter and illuminator
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Master of the Parement (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
The Master of the Parement of Narbonne, often called the Parement Master, is the name given to an unknown French artist who was active in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. His real identity is unknown, but some believe he might be Jean d'Orléans, a painter employed by the French king Charles V between 1340 and 1407. The artist was part of the International Gothic style, which was popular in Europe at the time and known for its elegant forms, detailed refinement, and expressive figures.
The artist's name comes from the Parement de Narbonne, a painted silk altar frontal now in the Louvre in Paris. It measures about 2.86 meters long and 77.5 centimeters high and is done in grisaille, using black ink to mimic sculpture or relief carving. The piece shows scenes from the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, like the Kiss of Judas, the Flagellation, the Carrying of the Cross, the Entombment, the Descent into Limbo, and the Noli Me Tangere. At the center, there is a Crucifixion scene with King Charles V of France and his queen, Jeanne de Bourbon, kneeling. The presence of these royal figures suggests it was commissioned between 1364, when Charles became king, and 1378, the year the queen died. The choice of grisaille and the simple color scheme indicate it was meant for use during Lent.
Besides the Parement de Narbonne, the master is linked to several important illuminated manuscripts. These include the Très Belles Heures de Notre Dame, now split among different locations, and the Turin-Milan Hours, one of the most famous Books of Hours from this time. He or artists from his circle also worked on the Book of Hours of René d'Anjou, now in the British Library. The Egerton Hours is also associated with him. These manuscripts share certain visual features with the Parement de Narbonne: unusually graceful, relatively three-dimensional figures for the time, expressive faces, and well-considered spatial arrangements.
The workshop related to the Parement Master had a style that impacted later Parisian painters and illuminators. The figures in his work show a level of psychological depth rare in earlier medieval art, and his treatment of drapery and spatial depth hinted at changes that would be further developed in the 15th century. His work marks an important phase in French court art, created under the Valois monarchy when Paris was a major center for high-end artistic creation.
Before Fame
Almost nothing is certain about the early life or training of the Parement Master. He appeared as a talented artist in late 14th-century Paris, which was the center of luxury manuscript production and court support in northern Europe. The Valois kings, especially Charles V, loved collecting and commissioning illuminated manuscripts and painted items, creating a steady need for talented artists.
If he really was Jean d'Orléans, the artist's long career in royal service would have started around 1340. Regardless of his origins, the Parement Master was well-trained in both panel painting and manuscript illumination. He was also familiar with Italian developments in figure painting that started coming north through trade and diplomatic contacts. The International Gothic style he helped develop in France drew on these southern influences while keeping the elegance and courtly style typical of Parisian taste.
Key Achievements
- Creation of the Parement de Narbonne, a rare large-scale grisaille painting on silk depicting the Passion of Christ with royal patrons Charles V and Jeanne de Bourbon
- Significant contributions to the Turin-Milan Hours, one of the most celebrated Books of Hours in medieval art
- Attribution to the Egerton Hours and portions of the Très Belles Heures de Notre Dame, works central to the history of French manuscript illumination
- Development of a distinctive figural style within the International Gothic tradition notable for its relative naturalism, expressiveness, and three-dimensionality
- Establishment of a workshop whose visual language influenced Parisian court art into the fifteenth century
Did You Know?
- 01.The Parement de Narbonne is painted entirely in grisaille on silk, making it one of the very few surviving examples of a large-scale medieval painting executed on that material.
- 02.The presence of King Charles V and Queen Jeanne de Bourbon kneeling within the Crucifixion scene serves as the primary evidence for dating the Parement de Narbonne to between 1364 and 1378.
- 03.The Turin-Milan Hours, partly attributed to the Parement Master, was damaged in a fire at the Turin Royal Library in 1904, destroying several of its folios.
- 04.Some scholars have proposed that the Parement Master is Jean d'Orléans, a painter whose documented royal employment spanned an extraordinary span of roughly 67 years under Charles V.
- 05.The Parement de Narbonne was originally housed in the Cathedral of Saint Just at Narbonne before entering the collection of the Louvre in Paris.