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 for Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist in the Wilderness, Folio 211r

John holds the Lamb of God and stands at the edge of a wood inhabited by wild beasts. The two men in the scene are of uncertain identity. The format of this and the next two pages illustrating John’s life and death (Folio 211v and Folio 212r) follows the “picture book” format, with the text in a single column of alternating red and blue ink. The final page (Folio 212v) has the text in two columns of black ink, indicating that the cycle as a whole bridges a transition from the original plan for the book to the ultimate, expanded plan.