Art – Christine de Pizan (Cent Ballades) ca. 1410

Christine Pizan in her studio, where she is writing in a book. A little white dog with neatly folded front paws sits by her side. She is holding a pen and a knife and there is an open ink-house on the desk.

According to Christine herself the artist could possibly have been a French female illuminator by the name of Anastacia who flowered in Paris around 1400.

“I know a woman named Anastacia, who is so wise and so schooled in painting manuscript borders and miniature backgrounds, that it is not possible to find an artist in Paris, who is capable of surpassing her, or is able to paint flowers and details in such a cautious manner as she, or whose work is more appreciated, no matter the richness of the book. People cannot stop talking about her. And I know this from experience because she has made plenty of artworks for me, which all differentiates from the ornamental boundaries of the other great masters.” (Le Livre de la Cité des Dames 85)