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
December: Slaughtering a Boar, Capricorn, Folio 13r

The whole body of the peasant is engaged in raising his ax to slaughter the bristly, tusked boar at his feet. Below, Capricorn is represented as a long-horned goat emerging from a shell, with a background of golden fleur-de-lis. Like the border for January, additional quatrefoils at the sides feature the duke’s arms, this time supported by bears. Above the shields there is a swan on one side and a banderole with the duke’s motto—le temps van[dra], or “the time will come”—on the other.

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