Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History


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    Thomas P. Campbell (Director) and Timothy B. Husband (Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters) discuss Herman, Paul, and Jean Limbourg's Belles Heures of Jean of France, Duc of Berry (54.1.1) (2010).

    Belles Heures of Jean of France, Duc of Berry, 1405–1408/9
    Herman, Paul, and Jean Limbourg (Franco-Netherlandish, active in France, by 1399–1416)
    French; Made in Paris
    Ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum

    9 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (23.8 x 16.8 cm)
    The Cloisters Collection, 1954 (54.1.1)

    Folio 30r
    The Annunciation

    Completed by 1408 or 1409, probably in Paris, the Belles Heures, a private devotional book, was the first of several sumptuous manuscripts commissioned by the duke of Berry from the Limbourg brothers, Paul, Jean, and Herman. It is perhaps the only virtually complete and stylistically consistent prayer book to survive from the duke's extraordinary library. The richly illustrated text is amplified by unusual cycles reflecting the duke's personal interests. Using a luminous palette, the artists blended an intimate Northern vision of nature with Italianate modes of figural articulation. The keen interest in the natural world and the naturalistic means of representing it, so striking in ninety-four full-page and fifty-four column illuminations, foreshadow the work of Jan van Eyck and the ensuing generations of outstanding fifteenth-century painters in the South Lowlands.

    Visit "The Art of Illumination" for complete information about this sumptuous book of hours, its contents, its artists, and its patron, including photographs of every miniature in the manuscript.

    This work of art also appears on Connections: Writing

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    Index Terms

    Art Movement/Style

    Artist

    • Limbourg, Herman (Franco–Netherlandish, active in France, by 1399–1416)
    • Limbourg, Jean (Franco–Netherlandish, active in France, by 1399–1416)
    • Limbourg, Paul (Franco–Netherlandish, active in France, by 1399–1416)

    Material and Technique

    Object

    Subject Matter/Theme

    Artist Biography

    Technical Glossary


    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • "Baldung Grien's Grünen Wörth Altarpiece and Devotion to the Two St. Johns." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 27 (1992).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Schrader, J. L. "A Medieval Bestiary." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 44, no. 1 (Summer, 1986).
    JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs
    • "Director's Note" PDF
    • "Introduction" PDF
  • Young, Bonnie. "The Monkeys & the Peddler." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 26, no. 10 (June, 1968).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Young, Bonnie. "A Jewel of St. Catherine." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 24, no. 10 (June, 1966).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Randall, Richard H. "Frog in the Middle." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 16, no. 10 (June, 1958)
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Freeman, Margaret B. "A Book of Hours Made for The Duke of Berry." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New ser., v. 15, no. 4 (December, 1956)
    JSTOR | PDF
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    • Belles Heures of Jean of France, Duc of Berry, 1405–1408/9
    Herman, Paul, and Jean Limbourg (Franco-Netherlandish, active in France, by 1399–1416)
    French; Made in Paris
    Ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum

    9 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (23.8 x 16.8 cm)
    The Cloisters Collection, 1954 (54.1.1)

    Folio 142r
    Crucifixion with Christ Offered Vinegar

    Folio 20r
    Angels Carry the Body of St. Catherine to Mount Sinai

    Folio 223v
    The Duke of Berry on a Journey

    Folio 1r
    Ex Libris of the Duke de Berry by Jean Flamel

    Folio 91v
    Jean, duc of Berry, in Prayer

    Folio 63r
    The Flight into Egypt

    Folio 17v
    Saint Catherine of Alexandria's Wounds are Anointed by the Angels

    Folio 74v
    Procession of Flagellants

    Folio 221r
    Mass for All Souls


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    A conversation about Herman, Paul, and Jean Limbourg's Belles Heures of Jean of France, Duc of Berry (54.1.1) between Thomas P. Campbell, Director, and Timothy B. Husband, Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters (2010).

    Thomas P. Campbell (Director) and Timothy B. Husband (Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters) discuss Herman, Paul, and Jean Limbourg's Belles Heures of Jean of France, Duc of Berry (54.1.1) (2010).