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 Beseeches God (Psalm 101), Folio 70r

Although nothing in the text of the psalm itself explains why the scene takes place in a cave, it was written in Samuel II (Kings II in Douai) that David took refuge from Saul in a cave. David’s head is dramatically foreshortened.