Master of the Riccardiana Lactantius

The Master of the Riccardiana Lactantius is the conventional designation for an anonymous Italian illuminator active around 1450. This designation stems from a copy of Lactantius's Divinae Institutiones held in the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence, though the known output demonstrates a primary specialization in liturgical manuscripts.

As an illuminator, the artist specialized in decorating Antiphonaries, creating complex narrative scenes enclosed within large initials used to organize the sacred text. These works demonstrate meticulous precision and a command of miniature storytelling. Notable examples of the Master’s contributions to this medium include Manuscript Leaf with Saint John the Evangelist and Saint John the Baptist in an Initial M and Manuscript Leaf with the Celebration of a Mass in an Initial S.

Seven manuscript leaves attributed to the Master of the Riccardiana Lactantius are represented in major museum collections, establishing the artist's historical significance within the field of 15th-century manuscript painting. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds several of these key works, including Manuscript Leaf with Saint Benedict Resuscitating a Boy in an Initial D and Manuscript Leaf with the Nativity in an Initial H, all stemming from the same dismembered Antiphonary. Reproductions of these intricate designs are widely studied, and high-quality prints derived from the original manuscript leaves provide researchers and enthusiasts access to the Master of the Riccardiana Lactantius prints, with certain images now available in the public domain.