( fl c. 1370). Italian illuminator. The illustration of a fragmentary copy of the Arthurian romance Guiron le courtois (Paris, Bib. N., MS. nouv. acq. fr. 5243), after which this Master is named, is one of the most accomplished and sophisticated examples of 14th-century manuscript illumination. All but one of the scenes are restricted to the margins of the lower half of the folio, below and sometimes to either side and between the two columns of text. There are no frames, and the text areas appear as screens hanging in front of the illustrated narrative. Occasionally there is a playfulness in the depiction of represented space relative to the surface of the page that became common only in late 15th-century manuscripts: for example on folio 26v Arthur’s hand curls around and holds the edge of the text area as he peers out from behind it. The delicacy and precision of drawing are equalled by the close attention to narrative accuracy and the interaction of the protagonists. The exceptional quality of these illustrations was recognized by the Master of Latin 757, who absorbed characters and decorative details from the Guiron manuscript and reused them throughout his career. The flourished initials contain the arms and monogram of Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, for whom the manuscript was presumably made. Both the flourished and the painted initials can be paralleled in a manuscript (Paris, Bib. N., MS. lat. 7880I) that Petrarch had illuminated in Milan in 1369. It was presumably in this city and around this date that this exceptional illuminator worked. Another illuminated copy of Guiron le courtois (priv. col.) is his only other known work.

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