Mayer van den Bergh Breviary

The Mayer van den Bergh Breviary is a 16th-century illuminated manuscript, a breviary, currently in the collections of Museum Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp.

The book was made at the beginning of the 16th century and belongs to a small group of luxurious manuscripts made in Flanders at this time. It has been suggested that the patron was King Manuel I of Portugal, but the lack of any direct references to the kings' ownership makes this hypothesis questionable. The breviary contains around 80 miniatures, of which 36 are full-page. The main artist responsible for the decoration was the Master of the First Prayer Book of Maximilian but the book also contains illustrations by Gerard David, the Master of James IV of Scotland and others; in total more than 12 artists were involved in decorating the book. Stylistically it contains both traditional elements and attempts at new treatment of subject matter, especially in the Psalter.