Historical context Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

1 historical context

1.1 duke of berry
1.2 provenance
1.3 recent history

historical context

the “golden age” of book of hours in europe took place 1350–1480; book of hours became popular in france around 1400 (longnon, cazelles , meiss 1969). @ time many major french artists undertook manuscript illumination.

duke of berry

john, duke of berry, french prince whom très riches heures made. berry third son of future king of france, john good, , brother , uncle of next 2 kings. little known of berry’s education spent adolescence among arts , literature (cazelles , rathofer 1988). young prince lived extravagant life, necessitating frequent loans. commissioned many works of art, amassed in saint chapelle mansion. upon berry’s death in 1416, final inventory done on estate described incomplete , unbound gatherings of book très riches heures ( rich[ly decorated] hours ) distinguish 15 other books of hours in berry s collection, including belles heures (beautiful hours) , petit heures (little hours) (cazelles , rathofer 1988).

provenance

the très riches heures has changed ownership many times since creation. gatherings in berry s estate on death in 1416, after little clear until 1485. deal known lengthy , messy disposal of berry s goods satisfy many creditors, disrupted insanity of king , burgundian , english occupation of paris, there no references manuscript. seems have been in paris of period, , earlier; style of workshop of parisian bedford master seen in borders, , works 1410s 1440s workshop, later taken on dunois master, use border designs other pages, suggesting manuscript available copying in paris.

cover of bound manuscript

duke charles of savoy acquired manuscript, gift, , commissioned jean colombe complete manuscript around 1485–1489. sixteenth-century flemish artists imitated figures or entire compositions found in calendar (cazelles , rathofer 1988). manuscript belonged margaret of austria, duchess of savoy (1480–1530), governor of habsburg netherlands 1507 1515 , again 1519 1530.

after history unknown until 18th century, when given present bookbinding arms of serra family of genoa, italy.

it inherited serras baron felix de margherita of turin , milan. french orleanist pretender, henri d orléans, duke of aumale, in exile @ twickenham near london, bought baron in 1856. on return france in 1871 aumale placed in library @ château de chantilly, bequeathed institut de france home of musée condé.

recent history

the duc d aumale friend in study @ chantilly

when aumale saw manuscript in genoa able recognize commission of berry, because familiar set of plates of other manuscripts of berry published in 1834, , subsidized government of duke s father, king louis philippe i. aumale gave german art historian gustav friedrich waagen breakfast , private view of manuscript @ orleans house, in time 10-page account appear in waagen s galleries , cabinets of art in great britain in 1857, beginning rise fame. exhibited in 1862 members of fine arts club.

the connection très riches heures listed in 1416 inventory made léopold victor delisle of bibliothèque nationale de france , communicated aumale in 1881, before being published in 1884 in gazette des beaux-arts; has never been disputed. manuscript took pride of place in three-part article on of berry s manuscripts known, , 1 illustrated, 4 plates in heliogravure. manuscript called grandes heures du duc de berry in this, title given manuscript, based on larger page size. heures de chantilly used in next decades.

a monograph 65 heliogravure plates published paul durrieu in 1904, coincide major exhibition of french gothic art in paris exhibited in form of 12 plates durrieu monograph, terms of aumale s bequest forbade removal chantilly. work became increasingly famous, , increasingly reproduced. first colour reproductions, using technique of photogravure, appeared in 1940 in french art quarterly verve. each issue of lavish magazine cost 3 hundred francs. in january 1948, popular american photo-magazine life published feature full-page reproductions of 12 calendar scenes, @ little larger actual size @ low-quality. catering american sensibilities of time, magazine censored 1 of images retouching genitals of peasant in february scene. musée condé decided in 1980s, controversially, remove manuscript both public display , scholarly access, replacing copies of complete modern facsimile. michael camille argues completes logic of reception history of work has entirely become famous through reproductions of images, famous images having been seen in original small number of people.