Artists Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

1 artists

1.1 limbourg brothers
1.2 jean colombe
1.3 intermediate painter
1.4 attribution of calendar miniatures

artists

the limbourg brothers. christ led judgment, folio 143r

there has been debate regarding identity , number of artists contributed très riches heures.

the limbourg brothers

in 1884, léopold delisle correlated manuscript description of item in inventory drawn after berry’s death: several gatherings of rich book of hours [très riches heures], richly historiated , illuminated, pol [paul] , brothers made . delisle s resulting attribution paul de limbourg , 2 brothers, jean , herman, has received general acceptance , provided manuscript name.

the 3 limbourg brothers had worked under supervision of berry’s brother, philip bold, duke of burgundy, on bible moralisée , had come work berry after philip’s death. 1411, limbourgs permanent members of berry s household (cazelles , rathofer 1988). agreed of berry s books of hours, belle heures, completed between 1408 , 1409, can attributed brothers. thought limbourg contribution très riches heures between 1412 , deaths in 1416. documentation 1416 found indicating jean, followed paul , herman, had died. jean de berry died later year (cazelles , rathofer 1988). apart main campaign of illumination, text, border decorations, , gilding executed assistants or specialists remain unknown.

the choice of castles in calendar 1 factor in dating of brothers contribution. chateau of bicêtre, outside paris, 1 of berry s grandest residences, not appear in calendar. seems because no image had been created october 1411, when large mob paris looted , set on fire in armagnac–burgundian civil war. chateaux @ dourdan (april) , Étampes (july) both shown, although berry lost them burgundians @ end of 1411, Étampes being badly damaged in siege.

man of sorrows, duke charles of savoy , wife 1485 1489; folio 75r


jean colombe

folio 75 of très riches heures includes duke charles of savoy , wife. 2 married in 1485 , duke died in 1489, implying not 1 of original folios. second painter identified paul durrieu jean colombe, paid 25 gold pieces duke complete canonical hours (cazelles , rathofer 1988).

the funeral of raymond diocrès, folio 86v

there miniatures incomplete , needed filling in, example, foreground figures , faces of miniature illustrating office of dead, known funeral of raymond diocrès.

there other subtle differences between miniatures created limbourgs , colombe. colombe chose set large miniatures in frames of marble , gold columns. faces less delicate, more pronounced features. used intense blue paint seen in landscape of miniatures. colombe worked in own style without attempting imitate of limbourgs (cazelles , rathofer 1988). in folio 75 followed limbourgs including depiction of 1 of patron s castles in duchy of savoy in landscape background.

the intermediate painter

the intermediate painter , called master of shadows, shadows element of style, thought barthélemy van eyck (strictly miniaturist known master of rené of anjou, identified documented painter barthélemy van eyck) have been @ work in 1440s. other scholars put work 1420s, though there no documentation this. @ rate, intermediate artist assumed have worked on manuscript sometime between 1416 , 1485. evidence artistic style, details of costume, suggests limbourgs did not paint of calendar miniatures. figures in miniatures january, april, may, , august dressed in styles 1420. figures strolling in october dressed in sober fashion indicative of mid-fifteenth century. known gatherings fell hands of king charles vii after berry s death, , assumed intermediate painter associated court (cazelles , rathofer 1988).

catherine reynolds, in article of 2005, approached dating of intermediate painter s work through borrowings visible in work of other parisian illuminators, , placed in late 1430s or @ start of 1440s. inconveniently describes accepted identification barthélemy van eyck, , in case detects number of stylistic differences between van eyck , intermediate painter . jonathan alexander sees no stylistic need hypothesize intermediate painter @ all.

february, attributed paul limbourg, or rustic painter


attribution of calendar miniatures

the artists of calendar miniatures have been identified follows (cazelles , rathofer 1988):

january: jean
february: paul
march: paul , colombe
april: jean
may: jean
june: paul, jean, herman, , colombe (?)
july: paul
august: jean
september: paul , colombe
october: paul , colombe (?)
november: colombe
december: paul

pognon gives following breakdown of main miniatures in calendar, using more cautious stylistic names artists:

january: courtly painter
february: rustic painter
march: courtly painter (landscape) , master of shadows (figures)
april: courtly painter
may: courtly painter
june: rustic painter
july: rustic painter
august: courtly painter
september: rustic painter (landscape)? , master of shadows (figures)
october: master of shadows
november: jean colombe
december: master of shadows

in addition pognon identifies pious painter painted many of religious scenes later in book during initial campaign. courtly , rustic , pious painters equate 3 limbourg brothers, or perhaps other artists in workshop. there alternative analyses , divisions proposed other specialists.