Black Hours, Morgan Library

The Black Hours, MS M493 (French: Livre d'heures Noir, German: Schwarzes Stundenbuch) is an illuminated book of hours usually dated to c 1475-80, originating in Bruges, now in the collection of the Morgan Library & Museum, New York. It consists of 121 leaves, of which 14 contain illustrations, the others contain text in rows of 14 lines, in Latin with gold and sliver lettering. The book has a dark blue appearance; the pig skin vellum was stained with ink, over which the text is written in sliver and gold. Its borders are ornamented with flowers and foliage. The book opens with a calendar (folios 3-15) followed by the Hours of the Virgin (folios 15-98).

MS M493 has been described as a masterpiece of Gothic manuscript illumination, and "of unequaled luxury". It is one of seven extant Black books of hours, all dating from mid to late 15th century Flanders. The black and dark-blue backgrounds were achieved by immersing vellum in an iron-copper solution, and the parchment pre-soaked in black ink.

No records survive of its creators or original owners, but the quality and expensive rarity of its production and its uniquely dark tone suggest commission by privileged and sophisticated members of the Burgundian laity. It is usually attributed to the circle of Willem Vrelant, the leading Flemish illuminator of his generation.

The Morgan book is the best preserved of the surviving black manuscripts, in large part because of its unusually thick parchment leaves which protected the lettering from the chemical effect of the black dye, and allowed the Morgan to keep it in codex form, rather than having to place leaves in acrylic panes, as is the case with the Vienna Black Prayer Book. The manuscript has deteriorated in areas, especially in the black of the vellum, where flaking is evident. According to the Morgan, the manuscript has been scheduled for treatment and repair.

The Burgundian court of the time had a preference for dark, somber colourisation, and the extant works in this style were mostly commissioned for them. They favored the contrast of black against gold and silver, a matter of taste that was reflected in their formal dress, seen for example in Rogier van der Weyden's contemporary Jean Wauquelin presenting his 'Chroniques de Hainaut' to Philip the Good. The Morgan miniatures are linked to a follower of Willem Vrelant due to the stylistic resemblance with some of the faces in his known works, while the angular and linear manner of painting the figure's clothes is also consistent with his style.

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