The Trés Riches Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry

I thought that I was buying an old copy of the same Tres Riches Heures that my family had when I was growing up. The picture online certainly looked the same. But the copy I received did a grave injustice to the Work. The colors are not as vibrant. The pictures were not as Sharp. I strongly suggest no one buy art books online unless the price is extremely low. I did not do this and was gravely disappointed. Lamentably, I had some family health issues going on at the time I received the book that precluded my returning it in the time afforded. Extremely disappointed. I will never buy an art book online again unless the money is inconsequential. Sadly I paid over $50 for a sadsack copy.

Enter the magical medieval pages of the illuminated manuscripts of the gifted Limbourg brothers and discover a world long gone, but one which seems oddly familiar in a storybook sort of way. The colors (nicely reproduced in this hardback version of the book) will dazzle you - the skies were painted with an ultramarine made from costly lapis lazuli. The compositions, drawn in the pre-perspective days of the 15th century, will delight you. Many of the religious illuminations are moving - the Death of Christ captures the grim darkness into which the world has been cast in tones of grey and brown with only the shining gold halo of Christ piercing the gloom; God in his heavenly lunette above the picture looks sadly down on the scene, brilliant amidst reds, blues, and gold. But it is the pictures of the calendar - a wonderful record of daily life among the rich and the poor alike - that will charm you the most. The Duke feasts, the peasants warm themselves before fires, the plowman tills the soil, the farmers shear the sheep, and the pigs forage for acorns. And rising in the background of each of these magical scenes, in regulation storybook fashion, is a shining white castle. This hardcover version is a beautiful book that you will treasure for years.

Having read negative reviews of the cheap, paperback version of this book, I took a deep gulp and sprang for the expensive hardback. This is a case where spending more for the hardback version is more than worth it. The pictures are very large size format, with the gold intact (unlike the paperback version). The quality of the paintings is excellent. The book is beautiful to display, look at and/or study. I have been copying one of the illustrations, and having a great time.I love medieval illustrated books. I have not found another one in this large a format, with such detail. If you are into illuminated manuscripts, you must have this one, there can be no argument. (Hardback version)