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).

Fifteen Joys of the Virgin
Assumption of the Virgin, Folio 88r

The “Fifteen Joys of the Virgin” is an accessory text found in many books of hours, and in The Belles Heures it, the prayers immediately following, and the calendar are the only texts in French rather than Latin. This page marks the beginning of the sequence with a scene from the end of the Virgin’s life. The quarter-page miniature at upper left shows the Virgin being conveyed to God in heaven by seraphim, while the one at lower right shows a king (possibly King David) and attendants in adoration of the scene above.