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 Holy Spirit
Pentecost, Folio 84r

The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Virgin and Apostles is represented in an ecclesiastical space tall enough to break through the upper border. The monumental, frontal, and tranquil Virgin is contrasted with the apostles craning to look up to the radiance, some with foreshortened facial features. The elaborate border of “threaded pots” was designed to accommodate the circular projection of the scene.