Cuttings from a Modelbook with a Rooster, a Hen and her Chicks, and a Rabbit

ca. 1400–50

Not on view

The practice of working from model books likely stretches back to the ancient world, but very few examples of such works survive from medieval Europe. These three fragments represent rare survivals from this tradition. The keenly observed movements of the animals suggest that the artist spent a lot of time in the barnyard, watching little chicks learning to eat and a curious rabbit sniffing the air. The rooster and hen may be identified as a specific breed of chicken that originated in northern Italy, which matches the overall style of the drawings, while the rabbit seems to be of a French type instead. Models such as these could be incorporated into a variety of contexts, from panel paintings with detailed landscapes and animals in the background, to devotional books decorated with marginal scenes from nature, to animal fables such as those associated with Renard the Fox, whose stories included a rooster named Chanticleer.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Cuttings from a Modelbook with a Rooster, a Hen and her Chicks, and a Rabbit
Date: ca. 1400–50
Geography: Made in Italy
Culture: North Italian (?)
Medium: Pen and brown and black ink, watercolor, on parchment
Dimensions: Rooster: 3 1/16 × 2 5/16 in. (7.7 × 5.9 cm)
Hen and Chicks: 2 3/16 × 2 3/4 in. (5.5 × 7 cm)
Rabbit: 2 3/8 × 1 3/16 in. (6 × 3 cm)
Classification: Manuscripts and Illuminations
Credit Line: Purchase, Bequest of Florene Schoenborn, by exchange, 2024
Object Number: 2024.341.1–.3
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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