Les Très Belles Heures de Notre-Dame (Turin-Milan Hours)

The Très Belles Heures de Notre-Dame is a valuable and artfully adorned book of hours that resides in Paris. The book was commissioned by the Duke of Berry in 1380, intended to be part of his well-known collection. It is counted among the most magnificent prayer books of the Middle Ages, along with the lost Turin Prayer Book and Turin-Milan Hours. The artists – great names of their time – created large-format miniatures, composed the matching bas-de-page vignettes underneath, and decorated the pages with golden acanthus leaves. Thanks to their outstanding quality, these miniature pages are among the highlights of medieval illumination.

Constantly Changing Hands

The Très Belles Heures de Notre-Dame is connected with the Duke of Berry, one of the greatest patrons and collectors of art in history. The Duke gave the work, which he had commissioned, to his treasurer Robinet d'Estampes in 1412. It was he who decided to divide the manuscript into three parts, of which he retained the actual book of hours, while the other parts with the special prayers to individual saints and the missal were sold to the House of Bavaria-Holland. The latter part was subsequently divided as well, with the missal sent to Milan, and the prayer section sent to Turin (which was unfortunately heavily damaged in a fire in 1904). Today, this combination is known as the Turin-Milan Hours. In its original form, the unusually monumental work is an outstanding highpoint of medieval book art that continues to amaze in its constituent parts. The Très Belles Heures de Notre-Dame came into the possession of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, whose family would eventually gifted the work to the French National Library in 1956.

One Manuscript, Many Masters

The book of hours, aptly named “very beautiful Book” in French, shines with 25 miniature pages, which depict a variety of masterful art. This is probably due to the fact that many different participating artists added their own special touch to the panel paintings. The first of which, known as the “Master of the Parament of Narbonne”, was often employed by the French court and today has been identified as Jean d’Orleans. He was also the one who laid down the basic "layout" of the miniature pages, each with a large framed main picture, an intricately embellished initial, and a bas-de-page miniature at the bottom of the page – all well thought out and original in design. Especially fine are the ivy vines, interrupted by depictions of angels and small animals like birds and butterflies, which ornamentally surround each miniature. The miniatures of this book of hours from the hand of the "Parament Master" offer art history a more than convincing substitute for the largely lost French panel painting of this era.

French Art with Flemish Influences

Other participating artists could be identified with the “Master of John the Baptist” and “Holy Ghost Master”, who are connected to the tradition of Flemish artists. For instance, the impressive depiction of Christ’s baptism and resurrecting of the dead are shown. Next to the remarkable main paintings, the bas-de-page-miniatures are certainly worth a thorough look. In general, the wealth of figures in the entire manuscript, with its detailed studies of garments and faces, probably has no equal in contemporary art. There are also many curious discoveries to be made by an interested viewer, e.g. a painter set a bearded head on a female body among a group of worshipers. The last miniature pages, which were finally added in 1412, derive from the famous workshop of the brothers Paul and Jan Limbourg. The possibility that even more masters could have contributed to the Les Très Belles Heures de Notre-Dame is cause for wonderment and surely makes this work a worthy piece of any collection for every enthusiast of medieval book art.