Rich and Beautiful Book of Hours

Pictures are great! Love 'em. So these little snippets I have seen over the years from Belles Heures and Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry have always caught my attention. Their bright colors and medieval castles together with the agriculture scenes have always felt to me like a canvas of jewels. I am not sure who this Duc fella is* but I thank him for his commissions!

http://www.christusrex.org/www2/berry/berry1.html

This site has not only a lot of the wonderful pictures from this book of hours but also some descriptions of the content of the illuminations. I often find myself wondering about details in paintings and symbolism - what the art books usually tell me is details about the size of the paintings, where it hangs, and maybe a thing or two about the brushstrokes. This is what I prefer.

Enjoy!

*note: Thanks to the Internet I have also found out a little more about the Duc. Not the greatest guy - but he sure left us a lot of good art.