Leaf from a Book of Hours: Annunciation to the Shepherds (recto), c. 1410-20. Boethius Illuminator (Flemish, active c. 1414-20). Ink, tempera and gold on vellum; leaf: 17 x 12.1 cm (6 11/16 x 4 3/4 in.). This finely preserved leaf with its large miniature is stylistically consistent with the work of the Boethius Illuminator. An unusual and very original painter, he was named after a manuscript copy of the works of the Roman philosopher Boethius (AD 480-524), which he illuminated in 1414. The artist favored bright, sweeping colors and expressionistic compositions. He used tessellated (mosaic-patterned) grounds in his miniatures, as is the case here. The Boethius Illuminator and his assistants participated in the illustration of over a dozen manuscripts between 1414 and 1418/20. It was not unusual for artists working in different styles to collaborate on a single book of hours during the 1400s and 1500s.