Fol. 183v: Circle of the Master of Charles V, The Death
of Jacques de Lalaing. Photo courtesy The Getty
trappings of court life, virtually sparkling with energy and animation.
The famed events of Jacques de Lalaing’s life provided ample dramatic possibilities for the manuscript’s miniatures, ranging from his youthful travels as a knight errant at Europe’s sumptuous courts to his valiant support of Burgundian duke Philip the Good during the revolt of the city of Ghent in the early 1450s. Just weeks before Philip’s final victory in 1453, Jacques was killed by the new technology of artillery fire at the Castle of Poeke, an ironic end to one of Europe’s most acclaimed fighters in hand-to-hand combat. In the manuscript’s final image (fol. 184v), the artist depicts Jacques glancing over his shoulder at the cannonball thundering towards him as he confronts his imminent demise. Jacques’ notoriety had already spread far and wide, but his untimely death soon resulted in his celebration as the most illustrious knight of his age.
The manuscript was commissioned by a member of Jacques de Lalaing’s own family approximately 80 years after his death, no doubt intended as a memorial to the lineage’s most famous ancestor. It passed directly through branches of the Lalaing family for the next five hundred years before emerging on the art market in late 2015.
This work has been acquired in honor of Dr. Thomas Kren, senior curator of the Department of Manuscripts from 1984 – 2010, who last fall retired from the Getty Museum as Associate Director of Collections. A leading scholar in the study of Flemish manuscripts, Dr. Kren was the curator of many manuscript exhibitions at the Getty Museum, including the much heralded Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe (June 17 – September 7, 2003).
This newest acquisition is expected to go on view this summer in the Museum’s Manuscripts galleries. For more detiails, please visit www.getty.edu.