In 1405, three Flemish teenage brothers—Herman, Pol, and Jean of Limbourg—began a commission that would alter the art of illumination and painting.
Prince Jean, the Duke of Berry and the third son of King Jean II of France, was an extravagant art patron. He commissioned the brothers to create “The Beautiful Hours of Jean of France, Duke of Berry.”
Many hands worked on the 172 illuminations in the manuscript, which took up to four years to finish. The duke dedicated a scribe to write each of his books of hours (of which he had 14 at that time). Two artists created the borders and another made the historiated initials, which are the illuminated letters at the beginnings of sections or paragraphs….