Jean Poyer (c1450 - c1510). Jean Poyer was a French miniature painter and manuscript illuminator of the late 15th century. As a multitalented artist-illuminator, painter, draftsman, and festival designer active from 1483 until his death-he was a painter of Renaissance France, working for the courts of three successive French kings: Louis XI, Charles VIII, and Louis XII. Poyer was born in the mid-15th century. He was active between 1465 and 1503 in Tours, France. Popular and well respected during his lifetime, in the 16th century he was compared to Jan van Eyck. Yet by the 17th century, he was all but forgotten, as were many painters and illuminators who did not often sign their work. The work of his early period reveals Poyer's mastery of perspective, refined use of light and color, and realistic human depictions, with influences of the Renaissance, a discernible break from the Late Gothic style which often included unrealistic figures in dollhouse like compartments. Poyer's style, though quite different, evolved from that of the previous generation. Painters in Tours in the 1460s and 1470s had certain stylistic graces-such as their partiality for hues of lilac and plum. Poyer traveled to northern Italy and became motivated by the works of artists such as Andrea Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini, as well as being influenced by the presence in Tours of Jean Fouquet who introduced Italian styling to the area. During Poyer's mature period, he produced his most impressive creations. His work began to show a lighter, more pastel palette, with finer brushstrokes, as can be seen in the Prayer Book. His work, however, was ever-changing, and many of the larger manuscripts retained aspects of his earlier, more monumental manner, apparent in the Hours of Henry VIII and the Lallemant Missal. Poyer did not work alone, like many major artists of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance periods he managed a workshop. As there are relatively few manuscripts produced by his workshop, it is believed he only had a few assistants, talented illuminators capable of emulating his subtle style. Even today, it is difficult to distinguish between Poyer's hand and his assistant's. To make such distinctions more difficult, some illuminations were entirely by his assistants, while in other, Poyer would paint a portion of a miniature and then his helpers would complete the work. There were few artists of his caliber that he competed with professionally. The Master of Jacques de Besancon worked for some of the same clients, but his broad style lacked Poyer's subtlety. A more direct competitor, Jean Bourdichon also lived and worked in Tours, using a similar style and in the same time period, and often for the same clientele as Poyer. Although the year of Poyer's death is uncertain, it is believed to be between 1498 and 1503. In a poem written in 1503, Jean Lemaire the Belges compared Poyet to Jean Fouquet, Simon Marmion, Rogier van der Weyden, Jan van Eyck and Hugo van der Goes, placing Jean Poyet between other deceased painters, which he compared to living artists. One can therefore assume that Jean Poyet was deceased by no later than 1503. When Poyer died, his workshop collapsed and his rival in Tours, Jean Bourdichon, expanded his influence by increasing the production of his many assistants. Some shop members, as well as other painters who refused to join Bourdichon's factory, moved to Paris, and continued to illuminate in pseudo-Poyer style, however, not with the same level of talent as Poyer. The Hours of Jean Lallemant the Elder is an example of work in this pseudo-Poyer style. The influence of Poyer's subtle style was not extensive, and only one painter, the Master of Claude de France, should be considered his true artistic heir. His most noted works include the Prayer Book of Anne de Bretagne and the Briconnet Book of Hours. Poyer's extensive list of work includes the following: Anne de Bretagne, also known as Anne of Brittany, wife of two successive Kings of France, Charles VIII and Louis XII, commissioned Poyer to make a Prayer book to teach her son, Charles-Orland, his catechism. This richly illustrated book includes thirty four miniatures, which are among the most delicate examples of art from the late 15th century. The book was painted in Tours by Poyer. The Prayer Book of Anne de Bretagne is in the collections of the Morgan Library and Museum of New York. The Briconnet Book of Hours was commissioned by Guillaume Briconnet, France's secretary of the treasury under Charles VIII, as a gift to his wife. It is estimated to have been painted between 1485-1490.