Made in Flanders: The Master of the Ghent Privileges and Manuscript Painting in the Southern Netherlands in the Time of Philip the Good (Ars Nova)

The artist known as the Master of the Ghent Privileges was first formerly identifed as such by Friedrich Winkler in his seminal work Die Flamische Buchmalerei, based on a richly decorated copy of the statutes and privileges of Ghent and Flanders made for Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy. Clark hopes to demonstrate that the majority of the works ascribed to the Privileges Master were produced by two allied ateliers under his direction, and that he was succeeded by a second illuminator, the Ghent Gradual Master, who directed the workshops in Ghent and Tournai from c.1460-1475. In support of these arguments the author examines the stylistics, liturgical use, and provenance of the miniatures: the result is a thorough and convincing study of the importance of maintaining artistic tradition in the face of innovation in the Burgundian Netherlands.