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).

Calendar Pages

August: Threshing Wheat, Virgo, Folio 9r

A barefooted harvester in white briefs and a partly opened shirt energetically swings a flail in both hands over his head. His rounded belly is echoed in the stance of the elegant virgin below, representing the zodiacal sign Virgo, holding a palm frond and leafy branch.

See The Medieval Garden Enclosed for more about this calendar page.