Manuscript Illumination with Saint Stephen in an Initial S, from an Antiphonary

Master of the Brussels Initials was a Paduan painter active in the 15th century, identified through a distinctive hand in manuscript illumination and panel painting. The artist's name derives from a series of ornamental initials in a Brussels-held manuscript, a common method of attribution for works from this period and region. Working in tempera and gold leaf, the master produced devotional panels and illuminated pages characterized by precise lineework and jewel-toned palettes typical of Northern Italian Renaissance practice. Little else is documented of this anonymous practitioner's life or workshop.