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).

Hours of the Passion
The Carrying of the Cross (The Way to Calvary), Folio 138v

The poignant triangle of Christ looking back to his mother, as the apostle John reacts with anguish, is offset by the carnival atmosphere of the procession headed by costumes, banners, and music. In the deep background, Judas has hanged himself in repentance.