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).

Heraclius and the True Cross
The Exaltation of the Cross, Folio 157r

Heraclius is now in a flowing blue mantle as he adores the huge bejeweled cross on the altar. The other figures are unidentified. The double column of text in black indicates that this page was part of the original plan of the manuscript, meant to be part of the suffrages, unlike the preceding two scenes about Heraclius, which were an expansion of the story of the cross.