Ovid, Excerpts from Heroides; Octavien de Saint-Gelais, Letters

Master of the Chronique scandaleuse

about 1493

Tempera colors, gold, and ink, Tempera Colors, Ink

J. Paul Getty Museum

A queen sits on a throne, attended by several women. Below, a group of figures stands before a building. A queen sits on a throne, attended by several women. Below, a group of figures stands before a building. Executed for Anne of Brittany, queen of France (1477-1514), this luxurious manuscript contains a series of eight full-page images that accompany a French translation of Ovid’s letters that were supposedly authored by mourning heroines and addressed to their unfaithful husbands or lovers. The illumination program culminates with an image of Queen Anne, showing her seated frontally under a cloth of honor with her ladies-in-waiting. Like all the illuminations in the manuscript, it was painted by an anonymous artist called the Master