Limbourg brothers, Limbourg also spelled Limburg, three Dutch brothers who are the best-known of all late Gothic manuscript illuminators. Herman (b. c. 1385, Nijmegen, duchy of Gelre [now in Gelderland, Netherlands] d. February? 1416), Paul (Pol) (b. c. 1386/87, Nijmegen d. February? 1416), and Jean (Johan) (b. c. 1388, Nijmegen d. February? 1416) were among the first illuminators to render specific landscape scenes (such as the environs and appearance of their patron’s castles) with great accuracy and sensitivity. Together they synthesized the innovations of other illuminators and developed a personal style characterized by subtlety of line, painstaking technique, and minute rendering of detail.
Limbourg brothers, three Dutch brothers who are the best-known of all late Gothic manuscript illuminators. Herman (b. c. 1385, Nijmegen, duchy of Gelre [now in Gelderland, Netherlands] d. February? 1416), Paul (Pol) (b. c. 1386/87, Nijmegen d. February? 1416), and Jean (Johan) (b. c. 1388,
An Illuminating Calendar From ‘The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry’
In the first half of the 15th century, Western Europe was at the tail end of the Hundred Years’ War, a series of conflicts between France and England to win the powerful kingdom of France. War and plague were rife. Turmoil, heartache, and despair were the mainstay for many medieval Europeans.
No one was left unscathed.
During such tumultuous times, strong faith and a mustering of some form of hope is necessary for day-to-day survival. As sure as the ebb and flow of night and day, the only constant in such challenging times is time itself. As such, a calendar helps us to move forward and to hope for both regularity and something better the future.