Garden of the Soul Facsimile Edition

The Garden of the Soul, a book of hours created in Amiens in 1569, is a gem of late Renaissance Christian devotional art. The richly illuminated book features miniatures, vibrant borders with fantastic creatures and floral motifs, and decorated and historiated initials. Its fifteen full-page miniatures, including two in grisaille and two in camaïeu, form a gallery of sacred scenes and saints unrelated to the surrounding texts. Twelve are signed by A.B. Normand, an otherwise unknown artist, who also signed three of the eight smaller miniatures, one of which might be a self-portrait.

This exquisite book of hours is bound in leather with raised bands by the distinguished bookbinder Tessier of Amiens, whose name is prominently displayed at the base of the spine.

Illuminations of Exceptional Artistic Merit

The verso of the title page features a striking heraldic emblem with an inscription that, despite some wear, clearly references Amiens. Throughout the manuscript, several remarkable illustrations bear the signature of the artist A. B. Normand, including: the Virgin and Child (page 13), the Nativity (page 26), the Annunciation (page 26v), St. Christopher fording the river with the Christ Child upon his shoulders (page 32), the Virgin of Puy dated 1519 (page 73), St. Dominic and St. Ulfia (page 85), Mary Magdalene, uniquely rendered in monochromatic gray tones (page 97), St. Francis (page 117), St. Nicolasa, later beatified in 1740 and canonized in 1807 (page 125), and St. Fermin (page 157), who, consecrated by the Bishop of Toulouse, constructed a church in Amiens, converted numerous pagans to Christianity, and ultimately suffered martyrdom. The artist's distinctive signature also appears in the ornamentation of the magnificent page 105.

Additional unsigned illustrations include: the hermit St. Abraham (page 12v), the crucified Christ supported by God the Father (page 20), St. Mary of Egypt (page 20v), St. Gertrude (page 28v), St. Katherine (page 32v), St. Aubin (page 74).

Chromatic Elements as Aesthetic Enhancement

This valuable manuscript is inscribed in black and red ink, with the latter specifically employed to emphasize prayer headings. Vibrant coloration enriches the textual decoration through numerous illuminated initials and lavishly adorned margins.

The border decorations surrounding the text blocks display extraordinary diversity, incorporating: multicolored botanical and fruit motifs (pages 2, 7v, 25v, 92, 99), fantastical creatures and grotesques (pages 16, 22, 24, 27v, 33, 146), remarkably lifelike fish (pages 22v and 168), shells (page 16), architectural elements, human figures including women, musicians, and scholars (pages 13v, 24, 70v, 165), and various saints. This rich decorative program is so diverse that it defies the selection of any single element as superior.

Of particular scholarly interest are the diminutive illustrations that occupy blank spaces on pages 7v, 25v, 72, 80, 140, 166, and 168. Especially noteworthy is the portrait on page 171, which may represent the manuscript's creator.

Marian Thematic Content

This exceptional book of hours contains an Office of the Virgin that includes the Lord's Prayer and the Creed, a hagiography (pages 33v-72), a prayer to the Virgin to be recited before the Cross, prayers addressing sorrow, the Virgin's suffering and mercy, Mary's spiritual treasures, Saint Andrew's prayer to the Virgin, and a prayer by Saint John of Damascus to St. Michael the Archangel. Additional prayers include a brief invocation to one's guardian angel, petitions to various saints, supplications for healing, prayers for the deceased when passing a cemetery, invocations for favorable weather, and protective prayers against storms.

The breadth of devotional material is extensive, with Marian themes recurring throughout. Careful analysis reveals that the Norman artist compiled this book of hours by integrating hagiography and prayers from the "Jardinet de l'Âme," supplemented with commemorative prayers for his deceased parents, Nicolas Casimir Normand and Catherine Faroux (page 156). In accordance with contemporary preferences, the artist created new pictorial representations of the patron saints of Amiens.