The Art of Illumination

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).

Calendar Pages
November: Feeding Pigs, Sagittarius, Folio 12r

A swineherd leans back to throw a stick into the oak trees in order to shake down more acorns to feed his pigs. His stick and right foot fit neatly into the quatrefoil, filled at top with the trees’ foliage. The zodiacal sign of Sagittarius is shown as a centaur-like creature, also carefully designed to fit the quatrefoil shape.

See The Medieval Garden Enclosed for more about this calendar page.