4.1.1. The Use of Blues

In the Middle Ages the blue pigments were among the most expensive colourants. This is well known for ultramarine blue, due to the difficulty of supplying the stone lapis lazuli from which ultramarine blue was prepared—from Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the bestquality azurite was also far more expensive than nearly all other colourants [34] (p. 130), including organic blue pigments such as indigo and woad. Therefore, it is interesting to understand how the artists managed the hierarchy of the blue pigments. There was a wide difference in price between ultramarine blue and azurite. Nash [34] (pp. 125–130) reported a cost of 128 FRF/lb for *fin azur d'Acre*, a term associated by the author to ultramarine blue, while *azur d'Alemaigne* (azurite from Germany) ranged between 1 and 20 FRF/lb. Delamare [35] (p. 132) estimated that in the Renaissance, the cost of ultramarine blue was up to 400–500 times that of azurite. The study by Kubersky-Piredda on the trade of colourants in Florence during Renaissance [36] reported a price ranging between 500 and 16.800 *soldi*/*libbra* for ultramarine blue and between 40 and 400 *soldi*/*libbra* for azurite.

However, in the miniatures of the *Book of Hours* it seems that Antoine de Lonhy used the two blue pigments in chromatic combination rather than as alternatives. In the mantle of the Virgin at f. 1r (Figure 1a), for example, he used azurite as the base and ultramarine blue for highlighting. The same holds true for the skies present in all the miniatures. Therefore, we may suggest that the artist used the blue pigments according to their *tone* rather than their *price*.

#### 4.1.2. The Use of Reds

Although the contextual presence of vermillion and red lead in a medieval manuscript is not surprising at all, the use of these two pigments within the *Book of Hours* deserves some discussion. The difference in price is well documented; Nash [34] (pp. 143–146) reports that vermillion was sold for about four times the price of red lead.

The hierarchy followed by the author for red pigments is somewhat different than that for the blues. Red lead was used throughout the miniatures, where it was the main red pigment employed, while vermillion was then applied over the red lead to darken the hue and to heighten the red mantles of some characters, in a way similar to the combination of azurite and ultramarine blue. However, a more hierarchical use is apparent in the depiction of the blood of Jesus trickling from his hands and chest in the *Crucifixion* (f. 46r, Figure 1h), for which Antoine de Lonhy reserved the more precious vermillion.
