Berry Apocalypse

Berry Apocalypse

Made in Paris ca. 1410 for the famous bibliophile Duc Jean de Berry (1340-1416), this splendid Apocalypse manuscript contains excerpts from the text of the Book of Revelation in addition to a commentary by the Benedictine monk Berengaudus (840-892) adorned by 85 half- or full-page miniatures. Its text is written in two columns by an elegant hand with Bastarda script and elegant red-blue initials. The color palette of the miniatures is dominated by red, blue, and green, often with monochrome backgrounds and gold leaf has been employed for halos, crowns, and some initials. Stylistically unique and focusing clearly on characters and events, the miniatures possess a dramatic expressiveness, dramatic iconography, and an explicit relationship to the text. At the same time, they have a dreamlike quality with artful vegetation and realistic architectures. All of this comes together to form an artistically unique manuscript of the Apocalypse tradition.

Master of the Berry Apocalypse

The anonymous French illuminator responsible for the manuscript is known as the Master of the Berry Apocalypse. Evidence of his hand has been identified in several other works, including the secular Histoire Ancienne, a French translation of the world history Historiae Adversus Paganos written by the Roman priest, historian, and theologian Paulus Orosius (d. ca. 420), and a richly illuminated Bible Historiale. His style is distinguished from his Parisian contemporaries by a quick, sketchier execution and skillful use of colder and paler colors. Some images in his works are small sketches in shades of brown that are only partially lightly colored and accented with black and white paint. The sky is often indicated only by a few blue strokes, and his simple landscape depictions rarely show figures or cities in the background in order to focus on the main events in the foreground. Although his true identity is not known, the Master of the Berry Apocalypse has been immortalized by this unique masterpiece.

Coveted by Bibliophiles

The association with the Duke of Berry comes from a partially erased inscription reading Ce libre est au Duc de Berry Jehan as well as a miniature depicting both John the Apostle and John the Baptist, both namesakes of the famous Duke. Furthermore, Jean lived through an apocalyptic period of the Middle Ages marked by famine, plague, war, and strife within the church. The terrifying events of the text would have been all too real for him, but the story of the ultimate triumph of good over evil must have been some consolation, especially at the end of the Duke’s life. After remaining in the ducal library in Berry until the 16th century, the manuscript was acquired by the Mauvoisin family, which is attested to by further inscriptions in the manuscript, and later passed to the family of the comtes de La Tour du Pin. It was sold in Paris in 1879 and again in 1881 when it was acquired by Theodore Irwin. The manuscript was acquired in 1900 along with the rest of the Irwin collection in 1900 by the famous financier and philanthropist J. P. Morgan Jr. (1867-1943).