The Art of Illumination: The Limbourg Brothers and the Belles Heures of Jean de France, Duc de Berry

One of the most lavishly illustrated codices of the Middle Ages, the Belles Heures (1405-1408/9) is the only manuscript executed in its entirety by the famed Limbourg brothers. Commissioned by its magisterial patron, Jean de France, duc de Berry, this richly illuminated Book of Hours, intended for private devotion and now housed in The Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum, counted among the duke’s large collection of prized possessions. The luminous scenes depicting the legends of the saints, the Hours of the Virgin, and the like, many with elaborately designed borders, exemplify the transcendent splendor of the Limbourg brothers’ talents.