France, Besançon, c 1470 – c 1480. Auckland City Libraries, Special Collections, Med MS G139, fols 123v–124 (cat no 14).

This richly illustrated, two-volume missal was made for Charles de Neufchâtel, Archbishop of Besançon from 1463 until 1480, when he was exiled by Burgundian supporters because of his royalist sympathies. The missal remained in Besançon, but the arms of Neufchâtel in the decorative borders were largely effaced. The artist responsible for this Crucifixion (vol. 2) illuminated several books for both clergy and laity in Besançon. The grouping of his short, sturdy figures on either side of the Crucified, set high above them, helps to contrast Christ’s supporters and attackers: on the left, a loyal band gathers around the distressed Mary, while the soldiers and questioning centurion are ranged on the right.