The illustrations feature the duke and his beautiful castles, possessions and courtiers in precise detail. The most famous pages are the calendar months.
The duke and the Limbourg brothers all died in 1416, possibly of the plague. before the book was finished. It was later completed by another artist.
A high-quality copy can be seen today in the Musée Condé in Chantilly, France. The delicate manuscript itself is kept in an ornamented box.
Figure 2.40 April, Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 1412–16, illumination on parchment, Musée Condé, Chantilly. It is early spring and green is the dominant colour. Blossoms show on the fruit trees inside the walled garden and ladies pick flowers. The scene shows the engagement of the Duke’s granddaughter and indicates a political alliance between two families previously at war.
Figure 2.39 February, Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, 1412–16, illumination on parchment, Musée Condé, Chantilly. Peasants go about their chores in the snow-covered land. This picture of medieval life show a farm with sheep pen, beehives, barrels, bales of straw and even the hooded crows pecking at the straw on the ground.
