No other pictoral representation gives such an accurate and complete idea of the places constructed by Charles V. Between the outer walls and the Seine, promenaders are going along the embrankment. Steps lead down to the river banks where the boats are moored. In the foreground, men are sowing the fields. Wire on which bits of cloth flutter are strung on poles to frighten off the birds, and a scarecrow simulates an archer drawing his boy.
In this picture, the shepherd is about to throw a stick into the branches of an oak to bring down the acords. The miniature, with the exception of the tympanum, is the work of Jean Colombe.
The coloration in this picture is not as bright as those of the Limbourgs and the drawing is perhaps less pure, but the whole remains full of life and truth. All the figures are in action, even the dog who is attentively watching the swine as they gorge themselves on the fallen acorns.
It was in this chateau, with the square towers of its keep, that the Duc de Berry was born. This scene of the killing of the board who has been tracked down by the hounds takes place in a clearing bordered by bare trees and clumps of dead leaves still clinging to its branches. A whipper-in is pulling back one of the dogs by its ears, and the presence of a master of the hunt is sufficient to identify the breed of the pack.
Source: Verve, the French Review of Art, No 7, Vol 2, April-July 1940. Text by Henri Malo. Small bits of quoted French were translated by me.
The Book of Hours prints come on 11 x 17 cotton rag paper in soft white with archival inks. Soft white is white but the paper has not been treated with bleaches or chemicals that would accelerate the paper's deterioration over time. Without comparison to other whites, it looks white. If you place it next to a brilliant white mass-market print, it will look slightly more cream.
Book of Hours Prints are $108 each, plus shipping.
You can also purchase all three Autumn Months together.
You can pay by credit card or use your Paypal account.
Descriptions and links to purchase the other months are here:
You can find Book of Hours Tiles, a more extensive discussion of the individual months, a bestiary, unicorn tapestries, and other medieval art at William Morris Tile
