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 is Rebuked by the Prophet Nathan (Psalm 50), Folio 68v

Although it is not in the text of the psalm itself as written in the manuscript, in the Scriptures this psalm is introduced by a sort of title: “a psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had sinned with Bathsheba.” Accordingly, we can identify the scene as Nathan chastising David, who reacts with contrition.