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).

Mass of the Virgin
Madonna and Child with Two Angels, Folio 209r

This tender and touching group is delicately depicted in a small space. Virgin and Child gaze rapturously at one another as they float in golden boughs. Flanking angels with color-contrasting wings echo the curve of the Virgin’s halo. The border is of the “threaded pots” type.