Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

The Anatomical Zodiac Man Page from the calendar of the Très Riches Heures showing the household of John, Duke of Berry exchanging New Year gifts. The Duke is seated at the right, in blue. The Baptism of Saint Augustine, folio 37v The Nativity of Jesus, folio 44vThe Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry ( French pronunciation: [tʁɛ ʁiʃz‿œʁ dy dyk də beʁi]; lit. 'The very rich Hours of the Duke of Berry'), or Très Riches Heures (also referred to more colloquially as "The Très Riches Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry") is an illuminated manuscript that was created between c. 1412 and 1416. It is a book of hours, which is a Christian devotional book and collection of prayers said at canonical hours that originated in the 13th century as a means of bringing daily prayer to the laiety, or laypeople. The manuscript was created for John, Duke of Berry, the brother of King Charles V of France, by Limbourg brothers Paul, Johan and Herman. The book is now MS 65 in the Musée Condé, Chantilly, France.

Consisting of a total of 206 leaves of very fine quality parchment, 30 cm (12 in) in height by 21.5 cm (8+1⁄2 in) in width, the manuscript contains 66 large miniatures and 65 small. The design of the book, which is long and complex, has undergone many changes and reversals. Many artists contributed to its miniatures, calligraphy, initials, and marginal decorations, but determining their precise number and identity remains a matter of debate. Painted largely by artists from the Low Countries, often using rare and costly pigments and gold, and with an unusually large number of illustrations, the book is one of the most lavish late medieval illuminated manuscripts. The work was created in the late artistic phase of the International Gothic style.