Tag Archives: Limbourg Brothers

Attics of their mind

Painters across the centuries, the millennia, have always conjured out of their imaginations, fantastic towers and cities which do not exist. Sometimes a product of the subconscious, and sometimes a liberal artistic freedom, these artists created a dream architecture of … Continue reading

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belles heures:piety for the privileged

…Even the Church was in trouble: it was rumored that not one soul had entered paradise since the Great Schism began. Outbreaks of the plague were common, taxes were high, and political stability unknown. In such a world, a beautiful … Continue reading

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LOOKING AT THE PICTURES IN THE PEWS

“In its dissected form, the Belles Heures is an immersive look at life, death and devotion in 15th-century France. Its seven picture-book insertions distinguish it from other books of hours and amount to a remarkable cache of well-preserved medieval painting. … Continue reading

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BAD MOON RISING: THE PEREGRINE PROPHECIES

”Shakespeare’s plays mirror the debate of his time between those who believed that the macrocosm of the stars influenced the microcosm of human life, and those who dismissed astrology as “excellent foppery.” The phrase comes from Edmund in King Lear, who … Continue reading

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KNIGHTY-NIGHT TO THE ART-RISTOCRATS

The latter years of the fourteenth-century and the early years of the fifteenth were the grimmest period in French history. Between the Black Death, the everlasting war with England, plundering raids, taxies and levies; circumstances conspired to  reduce the voice … Continue reading

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GOING OUT IN STYLE & FOOLING THE ALMIGHTY

The first duty of a prince is magnificence. A royal prerogative to go forth and accumulate; especially on the backs of the disenfranchised poor, of which there seemed an unlimited supply. The four sons of King John took up their … Continue reading

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PROVOKE THE OSTENTATIONS OF THE RICH

The great masters of the Books of Hours were three brothers, Pol, John and Herman, from Limbourg, in the Netherlands. After serving an apprenticeship in Paris they entered the employ of the Duc de Berry. Their masterpiece is the ”Tres … Continue reading

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FAR FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF PIETY

The elder uncle of Charles VI started perhaps, the greatest and most extravagant spending spree in the history of the world to that time. His collection itself was a work of art. Jean, Duc de Berry, was more intellectual than … Continue reading

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BLIND PURCHASE WITH EYES WIDE SHUT

The duty of the prince is magnificence. Or at least this is what the four sons of King John II convened; the likely one thing they could agree upon was to accumulate and collect art and precious objects with an … Continue reading

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A DIVINE LIMBO & ROME AS A ''READY MADE''

”No barrel, even though it’s lost a hoop or end-piece, ever gapes as one whom I saw ripped right from his chin to where we fart: his bowels hung between his legs, one saw his vitals and the miserable sack … Continue reading

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