J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive
California
18 November 2008 - 8 February 2009
One of the greatest examples of French medieval manuscript illumination will go on view in its unbound form in the exhibition The Belles Heures of the Duke of Berry.
From the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the luxurious Book of Hours was commissioned by Jean de France, duc de Berry (1340-1416), in the early 15th century.
The exhibition, which is on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, provides visitors a rare opportunity to walk through its pages. Following its showing at the Getty, the book will return to New York, where it will be on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“We are grateful to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for their exceptional generosity in lending this extraordinary manuscript to us,” says Thomas Kren, senior curator of manuscripts at the Getty Museum.
“The Belles Heures of the duke of Berry is a terrific complement to the Getty’s stellar collection of western European manuscripts from the same period.”
Kren continues, “We’re delighted to have these magnificent illuminations on view at the Getty while they’re unbound, thus enabling visitors to experience its wonders as only the duke of Berry, himself, and other owners of the book, have been able to.”
The Belles Heures of the duke of Berry is beloved not only for the splendor of its miniatures but also for its sheer ambition.
While every book of hours contains a collection of devotions with corresponding illustrations, the duke found the Limbourgs’ style so new and exciting that he decided to make the book much larger.
In addition to the familiar subjects common to most books of hours—such as the story of the infancy of Christ—the Limbourgs added more extensive cycles. They included 11 miniatures of the life of Saint Catherine, a saint especially beloved by the French royal family, and 12 miniatures from the life of Saint Jerome, with whom the duke felt a special affinity.
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