The Art of Illumination

We are nearing the end of the run of The Art of Illumination. Your last chance to see all the illuminated pages of the Belles Heures will be Sunday, June 13. Although I gave the last scheduled gallery talk last week, it went so well that I’ve decided to offer one more before the exhibition closes. So join me on Wednesday, June 9, at 2:00 p.m., for one final chance to see this amazing book. I so enjoy responding to your questions and comments here in the blog—please continue!—but I also look forward to answering them in person. We’ll meet at the entrance to the exhibition, in the lower level of the Lehman wing. Join us!

—Wendy A. Stein

Above: Details of illuminations from Folio 221r, Folio 15r, and Folio 73v from the Belles Heures of Jean de France, duc de Berry, 1405–1408/9. Herman, Paul, and Jean de Limbourg (Franco-Netherlandish, active in France by 1399–1416). French; Made in Paris. Ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum; 9 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (23.8 x 16.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Cloisters Collection, 1954 (54.1.1).

Last week saw a wonderful gathering of scholarly thought and performance around the Belles Heures, and I want to share a few highlights of two very different events presented here at the Museum. Read more »