The Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

A 15th century manuscript, composed of 206 parchment pages, the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry is amongst the most precious documents in Chantilly’s library.

The catalogue invites the reader to rediscover this masterpiece from new point of view. The manuscript is studied here as fruit of the labour of several generations of artists across the centuries. The political, social and religious context of the time is also addressed in order to better understand this unusual book. The book explores the influence the Très Riches Heures has had on the fine arts and that it continues to exert on current artistic production.

The twelve months of the year, as represented in the manuscript, will form the heart of this book. To these will be added other illustrtions from the various sections of the Très Riches Heures , such as the “Cycle of the Passion”, the “Annunciation” or the “Zodiacal Man”. Finally, several works will be compared with these illuminations in order to create a dialogue on the book’s relevance, both in its time and in ours