In Search of “Temps perdu pour Colombe”

Abstract

First-person commentaries by artists of the late Middle Ages rarely survive. Consequently, artistic output of the period is more easily examined in terms of iconography, patronage, and wider social and historical trends. This article, however, considers a unique but neglected corpus of tiny inscriptions hidden in miniatures painted by assistants of the Bourges-based book illuminator Jean Colombe (ca. 1430–93) and his sons Philibert and François in order to understand the temperament of these often voiceless and nameless artisans. The minute strings of text, found within a closely connected group of illuminated vernacular history texts, contain complaints in French about wasted time, labor without profit, and days lost in loyal service. A careful examination of the manuscripts has revealed additional inscriptions of this type beyond those already noted. In terms of content, these inscriptions are virtually unprecedented in the history of manuscript illumination, though they are representative of wider patterns of social discord between masters and journeymen at the end of the Middle Ages. By situating these complaints within both the immediate context of the overburdened Colombe workshop and the wider cultural and economic climate, this investigation provides new insight into the concerns, grievances, and preoccupations of artists at the close of the fifteenth century. The article problematizes the idea of a monolithic and harmonious workplace while shedding light on an otherwise lost network of artistic relationships.