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).

The Story of Saint Jerome
Saint Jerome Leaves Constantinople, Folio 185r

In this two-part scene, Saint Jerome is given a farewell embrace by Gregory of Nazianzus as he leaves the city portal, while on the right Jerome sails away on a rippled sea of gold and silver toward a distant city on the horizon. Four ships are shown: Jerome’s vessel where a sailor works the rudder, two other sailboats receding into the distance, and a barge-like galley with a red canopy.