Les Belles Heures du Duc Berry
Les Belles Heures du Duc Berry
InquiryLES BELLES HEURES DU DUC BERRY
For his most personal Book of Hours, the Belles Heures, the Duke of Berry engaged the most famous book painters at this time Pol, Herman and Jehanequin Limbourg.
The Limbourg brothers were born in the last quarter of the 14th century, in Nijmegen, the capital of the Duchy of Gelderland on the Meuse. Their talent for the fine arts was not a matter of pure chance: their father worked as a wood carver and the three brothers grew up in the crafts quarter of the town.
In Paris, the Limbourg brothers were first apprenticed to a goldsmith. Around 1400, Pol and Jehanequin entered the services of the Duke of Burgundy whose brother, the Duke of Berry, had inspired him with his burning passion for beautiful books.
After their employer died in 1404, the Duke of Berry immediately offered all three brothers a position as painters to his court, entrusting them jointly with the decoration of a delightful Book of Hours, the Belles Heures.
Jean de Berry is known above all as a connoisseur of the arts, a bibliophile collector and a commissioner of extraordinary art treasures and invaluable painted manuscripts. Jean de Berry was indefatigable in building up his own library: he commissioned works with the leading illuminators of his time, occasionally purchasing the most valuable manuscripts available in the bookstores or receiving them as gifts from relatives and friends. In his late years, the Duke of Berry owned a truly legendary library that comprised almost 300 manuscripts. What impresses us today, however, is not only the great variety of his collections but even more the outstanding quality and rich decoration displayed in the majority of his volumes.
172 LUMINOUS MINIATURES AND GLOWING GOLD SCROLL BORDERS
All the 172 miniatures of the Limbourg brothers have a vivacity and colourfulness that secure for them a place in the history of illumination. Every miniature and every page of the text of the Belles Heures of Jean Duke of Berry is surrounded by decorative filigree scrollwork with up to 500 gold glowing ivy leaves. But even this sumptuous decoration is excelled by the playfully arranged luminous elements on the prime pages introducing the Office of the Virgin and the Office of the Dead.
This luxurious decoration, which is extraordinarily exuberant even for a Book of Hours from the ducal library, achieves perfection in the use of countless ornamented initials that extend over one or several lines and are painted in red, blue and glowing gold – the colours of the ducal crest. The combination of gold leaf and shell gold in the miniatures creates permanently glowing and glittering effects.
The fruitful combination of his generous patronage and their unique talent brought about a working atmosphere of unmatched creativity without which a masterpiece such as the Belles Heures would never have been possible.
A WORKING PROCESS UNIQUE TO THE BELLES HEURS
The great passion oft he Duke of Berry for the Limbourgs shows particularly in the unique working process adopted for the production of the Belles Heures. In response to their enthusiastic patron´s special request, the painters executed five additional picture cycles fort he codex, after it had already been completed. This production process is unique among the many other Books of Hours from the ducal library. It suggests that the Duke allowed the Limbourgs an extremly high degree of autonomy in acknowledgement of their talent.
THE FINE ART FACSIMILE EDITION
This highly personalised Book of Hours has now been published in a precious Fine Art Facsimile Edition, which is limited to 980 numbered copies world-wide. All 224 folios have been reproduced and trimmed to the original format of 23.8 x 17.0 cm.
Today the Belles Heures of Jean Duke of Berry are bound in an olive 17th century binding of choice morocco, richly goldtooled all over.
The Fine Art Facsimile Edition is protected in a perfect replica of this exclusive binding, including the minutest detail. Tooling stamps were designed and made by hand, for use on the rich gilded decoration of the book covers, of the spine with its seven raised bands, and of the edges.
THE NEW PICTORIAL VOCABULARY OF THE BELLES HEURES
Certain topical innovations bear testimony to the patron’s influence on his precious work. Scenes of study and learning that had never been painted in this manner before show his great interest in science and scholarship.
The deep veneration of the Duke for his namesake John the Baptist is reflected in a picture cycle of four miniatures. Although the perfect mastery of Pol Limbourg’s pallet impresses us more than anywhere else, this picture cycle still remains a mystery to us: its pictorial vocabulary has never been completely unveiled.
ACADEMIC COMMENTARY
An academic commentary volume makes this extraordinary Book of Hours accessible to the reader. Eberhard König, professor in art history at the Freie Universität of Berlin, specialized in the illuminated manuscripts of the Duc de Berry, introduces in the phenomenon of the manuscripts of the Duke of Berry and describes the make-up of the volume (German). English description of the miniatures by Millard Meiss.
Both the facsimile and the commentary volumes are presented in a protective case of acrylic glass.
Steckbrief
| Les Belles Heures du Duc Berry | |
| Creation Year | 14. century |
| Place of Origin | France |
| Library | Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters, New York |
| Signature | Acc. No. 54.1.1 |
| Extent | 448 pages |
| Miniatures | 172 Miniatures |
| Language | Frensh |
| Type of Manuscript | Book of Hours |
| Genre | |
Die Edition
| Les Belles Heures du Duc Berry | |
| Format | 23,8cm x 17,0cm |
| Limitation | 980 numbered Examples |
| Binding | Suffinleather binding |
| Publisher | Faksimile Verlag |
| Item Number | |
Fragen und Antworten
Wer waren die Brüder Limburg, und welche Verbindung hatten sie zum Herzog von Berry?
Die Brüder Paul, Herman und Jean Limburg waren begabte Buchmaler aus Nimwegen, die vom Herzog von Berry als Hofmaler engagiert wurden. Sie schufen das Stundenbuch Belles Heures, das als Meisterwerk der Buchmalerei gilt.
Was macht die Belles Heures so besonders?
Die Belles Heures enthalten 172 leuchtende Miniaturen und filigranes Zierrankenwerk mit bis zu 500 goldenen Efeublättern pro Seite. Sie sind außergewöhnlich reich gestaltet und zeichnen sich durch eine meisterhafte Farbpalette und detailreiche Verzierungen aus.
Wie beeinflusste der Herzog von Berry die Gestaltung der Belles Heures?
Der Herzog ermöglichte den Brüdern Limburg außergewöhnliche kreative Freiheiten. Auf seinen Wunsch hin ergänzten sie das Stundenbuch mit fünf weiteren Bilderzyklen, was für die damalige Buchherstellung einzigartig war.
Welche Rolle spielt das Thema Wissenschaft in den Belles Heures?
Die Belles Heures enthalten thematische Neuerungen, darunter Szenen von Gelehrsamkeit und Studium, die den Einfluss des Herzogs und sein Interesse an Wissenschaft widerspiegeln.
Was umfasst die Faksimile-Edition der Belles Heures?
Die Faksimile-Edition reproduziert alle 448 Seiten der Handschrift im Originalformat sowie den luxuriösen Saffianleder-Einband. Sie erscheint in einer limitierten Auflage von 980 Exemplaren und wird mit einem wissenschaftlichen Kommentarband geliefert.
Warum ist die Bildersprache des Johannes-Zyklus in den Belles Heures rätselhaft?
Die vier Miniaturen des Johannes-Zyklus beeindrucken durch die Farbpalette von Paul Limburg, doch ihre genaue Bedeutung ist bis heute nicht vollständig erschlossen und bietet Raum für wissenschaftliche Interpretationen.
Welche Bedeutung hat der wissenschaftliche Kommentarband zur Faksimile-Edition?
Der Kommentarband, verfasst von Prof. Dr. Eberhard König, bietet eine Einführung in die Kunst der Berry-Handschriften und erleichtert das Verständnis der einzigartigen Bildsprache und historischen Bedeutung der Belles Heures.
