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).

Prayer to the Holy Cross
Adoration of the Cross, Folio 93v

This page is blank, but the parchment is so fine its translucence reveals the text and decoration on the other side (Folio 93r). Like the quality of the painting, the thinness, evenness and quality of the parchment and other materials indicate the costliness and noble patronage of the manuscript.