A window into the lavish French courts of the Valois dukes of Burgundy and Berry will be offered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art beginning March 2 with the simultaneous opening of two exhibitions †”The Art of Illumination: the Limbourg Brothers and the Belles Heures of Jean de France, duc de Berry” and “The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculpture from the Court of Burgundy.”
The former features the exquisitely illustrated pages of a luxurious prayer book that belonged to Jean de Berry (1340‱416); the latter shows expressive alabaster figures from the tomb of his nephew, John the Fearless (Jean sans Peur, 1371‱419).
Living in a tumultuous age during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England, the two men also played key roles in more local conflicts among the various branches of the noble Valois family. John the Fearless instigated the murder of his cousin Louis d’Orléans, and Jean de Berry figured alternately as a mediator between the warring factions and a leader of one of them.
While they were at odds at times politically, both can be credited with beautiful objects of art that are their legacy. The older duke, Jean de Berry, is one of the great art patrons of all time, celebrated for commissioning wonderful manuscripts, among them the Belles Heures, the focus of “The Art of Illumination.” John the Fearless bequeathed art with his death, for the emotional mourning figures that surround his tomb speak today across the centuries in “The Mourners.”
The brother of Jean de Berry was Philip the Bold of Burgundy, who was the father of John the Fearless, and Philip’s tomb, by Claus Sluter, provided the model for the tombs of both Jean de Berry and Jean sans Peur. Each featured pleurants (mourners), and the exhibitions will provide an opportunity to compare two of Berry’s (from the Metropolitan’s collection) with all of Burgundy’s, on loan from the Musée de Beaux-Arts de Dijon.
“The Art of Illumination” exhibition is arranged thematically, according to the sequence in which the sections appeared in the bound manuscript. It begins with 12 calendar pages, each of which is illustrated with a typical activity for the month at the top of the page and the related sign of the zodiac at the bottom. Other sections include readings from the Gospels, the Hours of the Virgin, the Hours of the Passion, and the Suffrages of the Saints, as well as pictorial histories of Saints Catherine, Jerome and others.
The exhibition ends with a prayer for travelers, in which the duc de Berry himself is portrayed on horseback leaving his castle with his retinue.
“The Mourners” exhibition consists of all 40 extant mourners from the tomb of John the Fearless, and three figures and one fragment of the architectural arcade from the tomb of Philip the Bold. Because the statuettes have been freed from the architectural framework that usually contains them, the figures will be seen in the round by the public for the first time.
The mourners will be presented as participants in a funeral cortège. A choirboy carries a candle. A deacon holds a cross. A monk reads from a book. And a bishop stands with his crook. One mourner †his face obscured by a hood †wipes away a tear with his cloak. Another brings his hand to his face, holding back his grief. And a third turns to speak to his neighbor. Some mourners carry a prayer book or a rosary, and others can be identified by the brooch or cincture (belt) that holds their garment in place. The procession includes members of the clergy as well as laymen, as can be determined from details of the caps, hoods and haircuts that are represented.
Heraldic banners created specifically for the presentation at the Metropolitan bear the arms of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria. Because of his membership in the royal house of Valois, John the Fearless’s banner includes the gold fleur-de-lis on a blue ground of the kings of France. Margaret of Bavaria’s arms include the blue and white Bavarian lozenges.
The Metropolitan Museum is at 1000 Fifth Avenue. For information, 212-570-3951 or www.metmuseum.org .
