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Master of the Vitae Imperatorum
( fl 1430–50). Italian illuminator. He is named after the manuscript of the Italian translation of Suetonius’ Vitae imperatorum (Paris, Bib. N., MS. it. 131), copied in 1431 for Filippo Maria Visconti, 3rd Duke of Milan. The artist’s style continues the Lombard tradition of the late 14th century and the early 15th, and he may have trained with Tomasino da Vimercate. Both illuminators painted in clear, bright colours, and they shared a repertory of decorative features combined in elaborate initials and borders, incorporating both naturalistic and fantastic foliage. The stylized figures that people the initials and miniatures painted by the Master of the Vitae Imperatorum appear to be direct descendants of those in the work of the earlier illuminator, although they are shown with a more controlled animation and a greater interest in modelling. The influence of Michelino da Besozzo may account for the Master’s fluid drapery style, in which deep and curling folds are combined within a simplified contour. In general, his highly finished and precisely painted miniatures are not naturalistic in style, their emphasized lines contributing to an overall sense of pattern and decorativeness.
Part of the Masters, anonymous, and monogrammists family
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