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
Saint John Baptizes Christ, Folio 211v

As John pours transparent water on Christ’s head, God the Father watches from above in a semicircular extension of the frame. Jesus wears only a diaphanous loincloth and humbly bows, crossing his arms over his chest. The arcing figures of John and the angel form a circle around Christ.