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
May: Falconing, Gemini, Folio 6r

A slim, well-dressed youth, falcon fluttering in hand, rides on a splendid white horse caparisoned in blue to match its rider. Below, the zodiacal sign of Gemini is represented not by identical twins but by a nude man and woman, their modesty preserved by a shield.

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