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).

Calendar Pages
March: Cultivating Vines, Aries, Folio 4r

The labor of the month engages two men: at left the barefoot peasant spades the earth while his booted companion pours manure from a large basket, obscuring his head. The ram of Aries below stands out sharply against the blue damascened background.

See The Medieval Garden Enclosed for more about this calendar page.