22/1/07 - History of Art - The Limbourgs: Brothers and Individuals

The Limbourg brothers were Pol, Jean and Herman.

Individuality has been prized more since the medieval times; at the time of the Limbourgs, conformity was more valued than individuality. The glass painters of the Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, came together to work on the windows: they had no artistic license, they simply had to obey orders. Manuscript artists are mostly unidentifiable due to their conformity of style, except if there are minor quirks, e.g. Master of the Hair-Pin Draperies.

The Limbourg brothers worked on three manuscripts that we know of: Pol and Jean worked the Bible Moralisée; Pol, Jean and Herman made the Belles Heures; and all three made the Très Riches Heures.

Around 1400 Jean and Herman, aged 16 or 17, were apprenticed to a goldsmith. Later they moved north due to the plague, but were thrown in jail before getting home. They were released after six months due to the high status of their uncle, Duke of Burgundy.

When they began working on manuscript illumination, they were the first to allude to themselves and the people they knew in their artwork. At first, it seems that manuscript illumination was a task given to Pol and Jean in order to keep them out of trouble. They copied an Exodus page from a previous manuscript, something which was by that time old-fashioned and out-of-date. They were not very productive at this time, finishing only two books of the Bible in two years. Their style is interesting: they used a variety of characters, illustrated weather patterns, and used perspectivity (a sense of space and distance). At this early stage, the brothers' work is indistinguishable from each other. They must have worked in the same style; conformity was most important at this time.

The colour of draperies on some of the pages is a shining white. It is likely that Jean was the innovator of this technique using his goldsmith training (he would have been taught enamelling, which also uses a brilliant white).

The painting from the Belles Heures of 'Mary and Child on a Donkey' could have been influenced by the naturalistic styles of Broederlam's altarpiece and Claus Sluter's mourning figures. Such tiny details as the footprints of the donkey have been observed.

It is likely that Herman was the least talented of the three brothers, in terms of portraying succinct scenes, emotionality and space.

One of the artists was interested in costume, for example, the painter of 'George and the Dragon', which shows a close study of clothing.

Later in their career, they represented the Duke of Berry singled out among the brothers on the first page of the Très Riches Heures. The Duke of Berry was a very generous patron to them. He gave them a house and gifts of jewels. They were known to play jokes on him, one time giving him what looked like a book with a pearl encrusted spine which turned out to be carved out of wood. Jokes are also alluded to on the first page of their manuscript: there is the illusion of horns, implying the character to be a 'cuckold'. The painter of this page is probably the same painter of George and the Dragon, for there is the same interest in costumes. It could have been Pol, who was the closest to the Duke, because it appears that the Duke sat for the picture. Pol was interested in portraits, including portraits of castles belonging to the Duke. This would have involved much travelling on his part.

It appears that the 'February' page was painted by a different brother, probably Jean. He may have painted this to try to evoke sympathy from the Duke for the peasants who had to deal with increased taxes. There is good use of space, and it is the first known snowscape. Notice the attention to details such as footprints. March and July also show peasants and use spatial techniques to guide the eye towards the distance. 'Christ in the Garden of Eden' is the first known nightscape.

Despite the talent of his brothers, it seems that Herman used his cluttered style throughout his life.

There is more allusion to the Duke and the artists, and room for humour, on the 'January' page, which contrasts the 'old', i.e. the Duke, with the 'new', i.e. the Limbourg brothers.