The Tres Riches Heures
is _the_ classic example of a medieval book of hours. This was a collection
of the text for each
liturgical hour of the day - hence the name - which often included other,
supplementary, texts.
Calendars, prayers, psalms and masses for certain holy days were commonly
included.
The pictures in this
directory are from the calendar section of the Tres Riches Heures. This
was
painted some time
between 1412 and 1416 and is arguably the most beautiful part of the manuscript;
it is certainly the
best known, being one of the great art treasures of France. In terms of
historical and cultural importance, it is certainly equal to more famous
works such as the Mona Lisa, marking the pinnacle of the art of manuscript
illumination.
The Tres Riches Heures
was painted by the Limbourg brothers, Paul, Hermann and Jean. They came
from Nimwegen in what is now Flanders but were generally referred to as
Germans. Very little is
known about them; they are believed to have been born in the late 1370s
or 1380s and were born into
an artistic family, their father being a wood sculptor and their uncle
being an artist working variously
for the French Queen and for the Duc de Bourgogne.
They seem to have
followed in their uncle's footsteps and by 1402 had entered into the service
of
the Duc de Bourgogne as artists. By 1408 they had entered the service of
Jean, Duc de Berry, one of
the most notable (and richest!) art lovers in France. They are known to
have executed several other
pieces of work apart from the Tres Riches Heures but most of these, with
the major exception of the
Tres Belles Heures, seem to have been lost. In around February 1416 all
three Limbourg brothers
died before the age of thirty, apparently killed by an epidemic.
Jean de Berry was
one of the highest nobles in 15th-century France - his brothers were King
Charles V,
the Duc d'Anjou and the Duc de Bourgogne, and his nephews were King Charles
VI and the Duc d'Orleans.
He was inevitably involved in politics as a result of his position and
was identified with the Armagnac
anti-Burgundian faction, as a result of which his property was attacked
on several occasions by pro-
Burgundian mobs. (On one such occasion, in 1411, his Chateau de Bicetre
was burned to the ground,
destroying many of the works of the Limbourgs). In 1416 he died, apparently
broken-hearted at the
destruction of the French monarchy at Agincourt the previous year.
He was the medieval
world's greatest connoisseur of the visual arts, with a particular fondness
for
jewels, castles,
works of art and exotic animals. Among his extraordinarily varied collection
were
chateaux such as
Saumur and Bicetre, rubies weighing up to 240 carats, a collection of ostriches
and camels and -
most importantly from our point of view - a magnificent collection of books.
He
owned astronomical
treatises, mappa mondes, and a large number of religious books: 14 Bibles,
16 psalters, 18 breviaries, 6 missals and no less than 15 Books of Hours,
including of course the
Tres Riches Heures.
The Limbourgs used
a wide variety of colours obtained from minerals, plants or chemicals and
mixed with either
arabic or tragacinth gum to provide a binder for the paint. Amongst the
more
unusual colours they
used were vert de flambe, a green obtained from crushed flowers mixed
with massicot, and azur d'outreme, an ultramarine made from crushed Middle
Eastern lapis-lazuli,
used to paint the brilliant blues. (This was, of course, extremely expensive!)
The extremely fine
detail which was the characteristic feature of the Limbourgs needed extremely
fine brushes and,
almost certainly, lenses. Later additions to the Tres Riches Heures carried
out by
the late 14th- century
artist Jean Colombe were carried out in a rather less delicate way. The
calendars,
however, were mostly painted by the Limbourgs; only November includes a
substantial amount of
Colombe's work.
This is a brief list
explaining the subjects of the calendar illustrations.
JANUARY The month of giving New Years' gifts (a custom which seems to have died out now). Jean de Berry himself can be seen on the right, wearing the brilliant blue robe. FEBRUARY Winter in a peasant village. The inhabitants of a farm are shown warming themselves by the fire, while in the background daily life - cutting wood, taking cattle to the market - goes on as normal. MARCH The year's first farm work, sowing and ploughing and suchlike. The chateau in the background is that of Lusignan, one of the Duc's favourites. APRIL The arrival of spring, hope and new life - the grass is green and a newly betrothed couple are exchanging rings in the foreground, accompanied by friends and family. The chateau is another one of the Duc's, that of Dourdan. MAY The May jaunt, a pageant celebrating the "joli mois de Mai" in which one had to wear green garments known as livree de mai. The riders are young noblemen and women, with princes and princesses being visible. In the background is a chateau thought to be the Palais de la Cite in Paris. JUNE Harvest time - the peasants are moving the meadow in unison, with the Hotel de Nesle, the Duc's Parisian residence, in the background. JULY More of the harvest; the sheep are being shorn and the hay is being reaped. The chateau behind them is that which formerly stood on the Clain at Poitiers. AUGUST The month of hawking; the nobles, carrying falcons, are going hunting while in the background peasants are harvesting and swimming in the river. Behind them is the Chateau d'Etampes. SEPTEMBER Probably the most famous of the calendar images. The grapes are being harvested by the peasants and carried into the beautifully detailed Chateau de Saumur. OCTOBER Tilling and sowing are being carried out by the peasants, in the shadow of the Louvre - Charles V's royal palace in Paris. NOVEMBER This is the only calendar image executed by Colombe; the Limbourgs painted only the zodiacal tympanum above it. The picture shows the autumn acorn harvest, with a peasant knocking down throwing sticks to knock down the acorns on which his pigs are feeding. DECEMBER In the forest of Vincennes, fabled for its game, a wild-boar hunt has caught a boar which is being torn apart by the boarhounds. In the background is the Chateau de Vincennes, long a residence of French royalty.