The Limbourg Brothers, Book of Hours belonging to the Duke of Berry (c. 1405) was a book of hours that was commissioned by John, the Duke of Berry. A book of hours is a bound book that contains the times and themes of prayer that a person should undertake on each given day. They usually contain images of stories from the bible like the birth of Christ. The Duke of Berry's book of hours is unusual because it contains images of the day to day life around his castle. The artwork showed the peasants and fellow royalty thrived under the Duke's reign. The Duke hoped this would better show that he was worthy of going to heaven. The Limbourg brothers (Herman, Paul and Jean) were offered the project because of their previous work for John's brother, Philip the Bold. Unfortunately, all three brothers would meet their end during the Bubonic plague in 1416. This would necessitate other artists to update the book when it fell into the hands of other royalty. This is a great showcase of what the architecture and living conditions of the era possibly were.
A gallery of works by the Limbourg brothers
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/l/limbourg/index.html
A biography of John, the Duke of Berry
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/62736/Jean-de-France-duc-de-Berry
Scans of every page of the book
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Très_Riches_Heures_du_Duc_de_Berry_scan_2004
Sources:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1475265/Limbourg-brothers
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/MEDberry.htm
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