Cristophorus Orimina: Anjou Bible, 003r & 004r (1340)
Two illuminated pages made by the Italian artist Cristophorus Orimina. The Anjou bible was an illustrated bible commissioned by Robert I 'the wise' of Anjou, king of Naples (1276 – 1343). Robert gave the Bible to his granddaughter Joanna of Naples (1326/1327 – 1382) on the occasion of her marriage with Andrew of Hungary (1327-1345). These two pages form the openings diptych.
On the left is king Robert I shown. He is robed in a Byzantine-style imperial costume. Robert is surrounded by the eight virtues: Justice, Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance, Generosity, Purity, Discretion, and Fidelity. Beneath the feet of the virtues are the seven vices (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy and pride) shown in the devil's company. this miniature epitomizes the king's manifest and abiding interest in the ideal moral conduct of rulers, while the inscription above the throne testifies to his fame as a patron of the liberal arts.
The right picture shows a three-level figural family tree of Robert I of Anjou:
- top: Charles I of Anjou (1226/1227 – 1285), king of Sicily (right) seated next to his consort, Beatrice de Provence (1229 – 1267)
- middle: king Charles II 'the lame' of Naples (right), son of Charles I of Anjou, and his queen, Maria of Hungary (1257 – 1323)
- bottom: Robert 'the wise' of Anjou ( 1276 – 1343), king of Naples and son of Charles II, (right) enthroned with his second wife, Sancia of Majorca (1285 – 1345).
Book from 1340.