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
Angels Carry the Body of Saint Catherine to Mount Sinai, Folio 20r

This extraordinary scene may be the first representation of a famous and distant pilgrimage site. Saint Catherine’s monastery at Mount Sinai was built of large stones and was visited by pilgrims known to the Duke of Berry, including his son-in-law. This scene conflates time by showing Catherine’s body brought to the monastery while also showing travelers equipped with medieval attributes of pilgrims—the brimmed hat and purse or scrip—making their way to venerate her relics there.