Renaissance Watercolors #08

 

John, Duke of Bedford, praying before St George 
in the《Bedford Hours》c.1410-30
- Bedford Master (active c.1415-35 )
- watercolor, bodycolor & ink
on parchment (26 x 19 cm)
- British Library (London)

The《Bedford Hours》is a French book of hours. Some of its miniatures, including the portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Bedford, have been attributed to the Bedford Master and his workshop in Paris.

François I (1494-1515-1547)
in《The Collection of the Kings of France》
by Jean du Tillet, c.1545-7[?]
- Master of《The Hours of Henri II》
- bodycolor on parchment (35.5 x 28 cm)
- Bibliothèque nationale de France (Paris)

Petrarch's Laura
- a follower of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
- oil on canvas laid on walnut panel
(61 x 46 cm) 17°C
- Victoria and Albert Museum (London)

Note: probably a 17°C copy, made by one of Leonardo's followers, of a lost work. Laura holds a carnation and touches an apple, the former a symbol of betrothal and fidelity, the latter an attribute of Venus. 

Louis II of Anjou, King of Naples and Sicily 
- attributed to Barthélemy d'Eyck (c.1410-c.1470)
- pen and watercolor on paper (22 x 17 cm) c.1456-65
- Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Paris)

Defaced Portrait of King Philip II of Spain
in《Patent of nobility for Sebastian de Besga
and Francisca de la Torre》by Valladolid, 1592
- unknown painter
- watercolor & ink on paper (36 x 24.5 cm)
- Victoria & Albert Museum (London)

Issued by the Spanish king to attest to the nobility of Sebastian de Besga and his sister. The Spanish king of a divided empire had many enemies and this portrait was probably damaged by a later owner of the manuscript who objected to Philip II's rule.

Philip II of Spain
- Sofonisha Anguissola 
(1532–1625, Italian) 
- oil on canvas (88 x 72 cm) 1573
- Museo del Prado (Madrid)

Source: Wikipedia