Heres the entry for October from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, the Book of Hours of the French prince John, the Duke of Berry. It shows his servants tilling the field, with the Louvre in the background. The Très Riches Heures is widely considered the most important illuminated manuscript of the 15th century. It is a very richly decorated Book of Hours containing over 200 folios, of which about half are full page illustrations. It was painted sometime between 1412 and 1416 by the Limbourg brothers for their patron Jean, Duc de Berry. They left it unfinished at their (and the Duc’s) death in 1416. Charles I, Duc de Savoie, commissioned Jean Colombe to finish the paintings between 1485-1489. . . . The Labors of the Months [illustrate] the various activities undertaken by the Duke’s court and his peasants according to the month of the year. Most of the illustrations show one of the Duke’s castles in the background, and each [is] accompanied by a sun carrying Phoebus beneath an archway depicting the appropriate zodiac signs. (from < publicdomainreview.org/collections/labors-of-the-months-from-the-tres-riches-heures/#sthash.lFvQo0j7.dpuf >, citing Wikipedia)
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 11:45:35 +0000