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).

Penitential Psalms
David Transfixed by Arrows (Psalm 37), Folio 67v

Here the illumination directly reflects the words of the psalm: “For thy arrows are fastened in me.” God appears in a ring of seraphim above.