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).

Hours of the Virgin
The Annunciation to the Shepherds, Folio 52r

The illumination for Terce shows two shepherds reacting with awe to the vision of three singing angels announcing the birth of Jesus. A dog lies near the woods, and a goat rises on its hind legs to graze on a tree. Atmospheric perspective shades the distant city into blue, while accuracy in scale is ignored in the rendering of trees.