Cristoforo de Predis: Manuscript cutting Initial 'A' with Galeazzo Maria Sforza in prayer (1477)

 

(The Wallace Collection, London, UK)

An illuminated page made by the Italian artist Cristoforo de Predis (1440-1486). This page was probably cut from a choir book. This page itself represents the initial ‘A’, formed by the two towers and putti that frame the image, and the river crossing through the centre of it. In the centre is a Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1444-1476), 5th Duke of Milan, shown. He is kneeling before God, presumably asking for victory in the battle taking place in the middle distance. This is probably a battle during the campaigns of 1476, during which Galeazzo fought against the armies sent into northern Italy by Charles the Bold of Burgundy. At the bottom is the arms of the Dukes of Milan enclosed in a wreath. Although a famous patron of the music, Galeazzo Maria Sforza was also known as a notorious womanizer and a cruel and tyrannical ruler. He was assassinated in 1477 by three high-ranking officials at the Milanese court. Illuminated page from 1477.