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).

Saint Catherine Cycle
Empress Faustina is Beheaded, Folio 18r

The enthroned Emperor Maxentius watches as his wife is punished by execution for her conversion to Christianity. Faustina has just placed her crown on the ground as the executioner raises his sword to behead her.