Jacquemart du Hesdin was a painter to the Duke of Berry from 1384 until 1411, when he was succeeded by the Limbourg brothers. He made the Grandes Heures du Duc de Berry (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale), as well as the Très Belles Heures (Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale), but is principally remembered as having started what became the Hours of Turin.
The illuminations in the Tr�s-Belles Heures de Jehan de France, Duc de Berry, better known as the Brussels Hours, are attributed to Jacquemart de Hesdin and his shop. In this book the borders contain sumptuous frames of quatrefoils, bearing the armorials and devices of Berry superimposed over the traditional floriate patterns. Introducing the Hours is a dedication page with the duke accompanied by Sts Andrew and John the Baptist, presented to a Madonna and Child seated on a high throne. This dedication diptych is truly a work of more monumental art as if it were originally meant to be framed and hung on a wall.
The picture shows the first dedication page of the Brussels Hours.
The illuminations in the Tr�s-Belles Heures de Jehan de France, Duc de Berry, better known as the Brussels Hours, are attributed to Jacquemart de Hesdin and his shop. In this book the borders contain sumptuous frames of quatrefoils, bearing the armorials and devices of Berry superimposed over the traditional floriate patterns. Introducing the Hours is a dedication page with the duke accompanied by Sts Andrew and John the Baptist, presented to a Madonna and Child seated on a high throne. This dedication diptych is truly a work of more monumental art as if it were originally meant to be framed and hung on a wall.
The picture shows the first dedication page of the Brussels Hours depicting Jean de Berry with saints.
The illuminations in the Tr�s-Belles Heures de Jehan de France, Duc de Berry, better known as the Brussels Hours, are attributed to Jacquemart de Hesdin and his shop. In this book the borders contain sumptuous frames of quatrefoils, bearing the armorials and devices of Berry superimposed over the traditional floriate patterns. Introducing the Hours is a dedication page with the duke accompanied by Sts Andrew and John the Baptist, presented to a Madonna and Child seated on a high throne. This dedication diptych is truly a work of more monumental art as if it were originally meant to be framed and hung on a wall.
The picture shows the Madonna Enthroned with the Child.
This miniature on folio 98 depicts the Presentation in the Temple. Mary stands in the centre of the composition with the infant Jesus in her arms, about to hand him to Simeon, the high priest with his nimbus and mitre. Behind the Virgin are Joseph and the maidservant with their sacrificial offerings. The architecture of the temple, with its triangular gables and the statues of the prophets on columns, recalls Italian sacred buildings of the Trecento.
The miniature depicting the Annunciation is from the Petite Heures of the Duc de Berry.
The Petites Heures of the Duc de Berry is less well known than the other illuminated manuscripts made for this duke, and is the smallest in size, but it is by no means inferior in quality. At least five painters were employed in the preparation of the miniatures contained in it, more than a hundred in number. The margin of this page is framed by the somewhat cruder figures of the painter known as the Master of the Passion, whereas in the central Annunciation, the more elevated and subtle style of Jacquemart de Hesdin reveals the influence of Pucelle. The Virgin and the angel stand in a Gothic church interior, a vase of flowers placed on the floor between them. The representation of space in this miniature from the Petites Heures indicates a thorough knowledge of the problems of perspective. The plasticity of the softly curving figures and the exquisite colour harmony indicate the high degree of skill of this painter at the princely court.
The miniature known as the Fool is from the Duc de Berry’s Psalter.
One of the most fascinating miniatures in the Duc de Berry’s Psalter is the folio miniature representing The Fool and connected with the name of Jacquemart de Hesdin. This unusual picture illustrates the Psalm 53,5 ‘Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread?’. The fool is painted standing in a green field flanked by two trees, against a red-patterned background. His half naked figure, with a white cloth draped over his shoulders, is twisted in the form of an ’S’. In his right hand he holds a court jester’s bladder, with his left he raises a yellow round of bread to his mouth. A sense of calm and great peacefulness emanates from his whole figure. Jacquemart painted this miniature early on in his career, and it may have been modelled on one of the illuminations Pucelle made for the Breviary of Jeanne d’Evreux.
Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 9 minutes):
Vivaldi: Sonata in D minor RV 62 op. 1 No. 12 (La Follia)
