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).

Suffrages of the Saints
Saint Agatha, Folio 179r

Agatha was punished for refusing the advances of the Roman governor. She is tied to a column and her breasts are removed by attackers wielding huge clippers ; one attacker raises his knee to brace himself in a pose like that in the Catherine cycle (Folio 17r), where the saint is tied to a column.