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).

Diocrès, Bruno, and Carthusians
Diocrès Expounding the Scriptures, Folio 94r

The theme of learned study begins the novel cycle, with the lead scholar, Diocrès working on a scroll in his throne-like chair, while other students in academic cowls gather around him to write and dispute. Carefully rendered details include the threaded post of the bookstand, the mortised joints of the bench, and Diocrès’s pen case.