Facsimile Editions: The Library of the Duke of Berry

The library of Jean de Valois, Duc de Berry is probably the most famous manuscript collection of the Middle Ages. As the offspring of the French King Jean le Bon and as Duke of Berry and Auvergne, he was virtually predestined to become one of the greatest patrons of the arts of the late Middle Ages. Legend has it that the Savoy Hours, a gift from his nephew King Charles VI, awakened his passion for precious manuscripts, which he then not only collected, but also commissioned himself in manifold ways. Thus, under his patronage, some of the most magnificent and iconic codices of the Gothic period were created, such as the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry by the Limbourg brothers or the Turin-Milan Hours. Here we present the most beautiful manuscripts from Jean Duc de Berry's rich collection.

The Très Riches Heures of the Duke of Berry

Our picture of the Middle Ages, created by the Limbourg brothers for the Duke of Berry: one of the most beautiful, valuable, and famous manuscripts in the world, adorned with 12 iconic calendar pages and 131 masterful miniatures

Paris and/or Bourges (France) — 1410–1416 and 1485–1489

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Grandes Heures du Duc de Berry

A book jewel outstanding even from the unique collection of the famous bibliophile Jean Duc de Berry: His exceptionally large-format and by Jacquemart de Hesdin, among others, exceptionally splendidly illuminated "Grandes Heures"

Paris (France) — 1409

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Belles Heures of Jean Duke of Berry

Commissioned by the Duc de Berry, created by the famous Limbourg Brothers: an exceptional masterpiece of illumination and one of the most beautiful Books of Hours of all time

Paris (France) — Ca. 1404

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Petites Heures of the Duke of Berry

A magnificent masterpiece by Jacquemart de Hesdin, the Limbourg Brothers, and other exceptional artists for one of the greatest bibliophiles of the Middle Ages: the personal book of hours of the famous Duke Jean de Berry

Paris (France) — 1372–1390

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Berry Apocalypse

Commissioned by the famous bibliophile Jean Duc de Berry: 85 masterfully executed full- and half-page miniatures in a visionary Apocalypse manuscript

Paris (France) — 1400–1415

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Très Belles Heures de Notre-Dame

Today kept as a codex of its own, but once created as part of an impressive mammoth work: A magnificent commission by the Limbourg brothers for probably the most important bibliophile of the Middle Ages, Jean Duc de Berry

Paris or Bourges (France) — Around 1380, around 1404–1409, and around 1412

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Turin-Milan Hours

An extraordinary and magnificent book treasure, even after its division into three works: Jan van Eyck's magnificent masterpiece for Jean Duc de Berry

Paris, Bourges (France); The Hague (Netherlands); Bruges (Belgium) — Between 1380/90 and 1420

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Brussels Hours

With the famous portrait of Jean Duc de Berry as patron: masterly miniatures in demi-grisaille technique in an outstandingly beautiful book of hours

France — Ca. 1400

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Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux

Enchanting grisaille miniatures and imaginative marginalia by Jean Pucelle: a great masterpiece in a small format for the Queen of France later owned by the bibliophile Jean Duc de Berry

Paris (France) — 1325–1328

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The Travels of Sir Jean de Mandeville

Commissioned by Duke John the Fearless and later owned by Jean Duc de Berry: the travelogue of a jack of all trades in beautiful miniatures by Gothic masters

Paris (France) — Ca. 1410–1412

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Savoy Hours

The stylistic icon for an entire genre and the seed of Jean de Berry's love for books: 26 surviving, magnificently illuminated leaves of the masterpiece for Blanche of Burgundy, Countess of Savoy, which was burned in 1904

Paris (France) — 1334–1348 and 1370–1378

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Great Canterbury Psalter

Started in Canterbury, completed 150 years later in Spain: a large and magnificently illuminated Psalter in the transition from Romanesque to Gothic to the new Italian style

Canterbury (United Kingdom) and Catalonia (Spain) — Ca. 1200 and ca. 1350

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Marco Polo - The Book of Wonders

Monopods, spice traders, and exotic kingdoms: the Adventures of Marco Polo imaginatively illuminated by the Boucicaut Master and the famous Parisian Bedford workshop

Paris (France) — 1410–1412

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Ferrell-Vogüé Machaut Manuscript

Fabulous pieces concerning chivalry, mythology, and the power of nature richly illuminated by the Bouqueteaux Master: the most comprehensive collection of works by composer Guillaume de Machaut

Paris (France) — Ca. 1370–1372

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