MS Widener 6 f.29r, Annunciation, from a Book of Hours, use of Paris, 1415-20 (pen...

This miniature begins Matins of the Hours of the Virgin. The miniatures have been painted by at least four or five artists, of which only three have been associated with known artistic personalities: a follower of the Egerton Master (six miniatures between fol. 147v-155r), the Master of the Mazarin Hours (fols. 13r, 15r, 17r, 19r, 20v, 114r), and an associate of the Bedford Master (fols. 71r, 105v, 220v). In the later Middle Ages, illuminated manuscripts were most often produced in workshops that employed several artists. These commercial workshops developed in response to the growing demand in lay society for beautifully illuminated manuscripts.