Woman Reading in a Studiolo
Leaf from a manuscript Book of Hours in Latin

In this neo-Giottesque-style miniature, a woman reading in her studiolo is wearing a white headdress and a long-sleeved red outer robe that reveals the petticoat underneath. Particular attention has been paid to the perspective of the architectural background.


This sheet came from a now disassembled Italian Book of Hours, undoubtedly a very costly one. It exemplifies the “biblioclastic” practice of the 18th and 19th centuries whereby illuminated manuscripts were cut up to provide collectors with illuminations. In addition to a second leaf displayed here, The Descent from the Cross, a third exists in New York, a fourth in Italy, and two others, sold in London in 2001.