The Queen of Illuminated Manuscripts

Panel painting in book form

This most lavish manuscript ranks among the most famous and precious books of the world and its miniatures among the most beautiful of the Middle Ages.

The script is of extreme beauty and clarity and richly decorated with initials and ornamental borders. However, the main feature of this manuscript, which has brought its international renown, are above all the marvellous miniatures in the manner of panel paintings. The artists who participated in the execution of this magnificent book are well known: the Limburg brothers and Jean Colombe were great masters of their times. Executed between 1410 and 1485 this unique work with its innovatory spirit and bold artistic approach clearly outdid everything hitherto known.

Mysterious History

The Très Riches Heures were made on behalf of the greatest bibliophile of his time, the Duke of Berry, around 1410. When he died in 1416, work on the book was interrupted. The then incomplete and unbound manuscript was handed down to the House of Savoy, to Duke Charles I who inherited the lavishly decorated work and ordered its completion.

Its path is then lost in the mist of times. The manuscript later reappears in the middle of the 19th century in the library of an Italian baron who sold it to the duc d'Aumale. After the fall of Napoleon III, the manuscript came to France where it is kept today at the Château de Chantilly and now belongs to the Institut de France.

The Artists - Outstanding Masters of Their Times

The Duke of Berry entrusted the Limburg brothers, who had worked in the bibliophile's services since 1404, with the execution of this manuscript.

The art of the brothers Pol, Herman and Jean Limburg was unique, its special character forbidding any imitation. Their work always represented and still remains to this day a landmark of Occidental painting. However, after their sudden death in 1416, the manuscript was left incomplete.

The manuscript remained unfinished for quite some time until in 1485 Jean Colombe continued to work on it on the initiative of the Duke of Savoy. The artist clearly admired the Limburg brother's style but refused to imitate it and developed his own style in accordance with the currents of his times. The calendar leaves in particular have not yet been fully attributed to a particular artist. Art historians speak of another "intermediary painter" who could have completed some of the calendar illustrations around 1440, however this theory has never been fully confirmed.

The Fine Art Facsimile Edition

The facsimile of this luxurious manuscript contains over 416 pages in the format of 29 x 21 cm and includes 131 miniatures, all richly decorated with silver and gold, as well as over 3000 gold initials.

The facsimile was published in a unique edition of only 980 copies which has been completely sold out.

The Commentary Volume

The commentary volume of 435 pages describes the manuscript and its historical and artistic background in full detail in German, English and French and also comprises a full transcription of the text.

The Four Seasons of the Duc de Berry

The facsimile edition of the Très Riches Heures is out of print and not available from the editor; however, there are some individual leaves showing replicas of the most unique calendar pages. The full page-miniatures fascinate through their expensive gold leaf decoration and their intensive colouring.

For the first time, all 12 calendar leaves from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry are now available in an exclusive edition. In addition to the 12 leaves of the months, the edition contains comprehensive descriptions and texts on the importance of the entire manuscript and its environs. The leaves are presented in a precious linen-covered case decorated with the arms of the bibliophile duke. The 12 leaves can also be used as an exclusive wall decoration as all folios are framed in passe-partouts.

Still available from the editor:

The documentation folder contains two full-sized leaves from the facsimile edition and a 16-page illustrated information brochure.

The presentation case "The Four Seasons of the Duc de Berry" contains the twelve magnificent calendar leaves of the manuscript and a richly illustrated brochure in which the work and the individual pages are interestingly described.