Leaves of the Louvre and the Lost Turin Hours

Leaves of the Louvre and the Lost Turin Hours

Standing before you are the only remaining four pages of the great manuscript treasure of the 15th Century; the pieces of the Très Belles Heures (Turin Hours) of the Duke of Berry. The prayer book was retained in Turin, but fell victim to a 1904 fire. Only the four sheets remain today, but nonetheless testify to the splendor and artistry of the origin, important prayer book.

A Great Master at Work

The five miniatures on the four pages of the “Leaves of the Louvre” derive from the hands of the great artists of its time. The master of Parament of Narbonne was responsible for the original design. Jan van Eyck and his colleagues partly filled out and completed all of the missing sections of the miniature pages. The precious miniatures pages inspire with artfully draped foliage, grandiose initials, playful bas-de-page-miniatures and especially the main scenes in bright colors and well thought-out composition. The latter part appears in its detailed execution almost as its own panel painting. The fact that this work of art is still available to seen to this day is truly a fortunate circumstance to be grateful for.

A Disastrous History

Duke Jean of Berry was the patron of the Très Belles Heures. For reasons unknown, he gave the manuscript to his treasurer Robinet d’Estampes in 1412, who opted to divide the book into three parts, later deciding to sell two of them to the House of Bavaria-Holland. The portion he maintained is well-known today as the Très Belles Heures de Notre Dame. The prayer book, which came together with the so-called Turin-Milan Book of Hours, ended up in the House of Bavaria-Holland, which commissioned in 1424 the young Jan van Eyck to finish it. After several other stations, the book ended up in 1720 with the House of Savoyard in Turin, where it was retained in the National Library. By this time, historians believe the four pages, now called the “Leaves of the Louvre”, were already stolen from the book – perhaps due to for their special splendor? That unfortunate act would ironically be for the better, because the remainder of the Turin Prayerbook burned in 1904 during a fire in the Turin Library.

The Lucky Destiny

The four pages have called the Louvre home since the 19th Century. Originally the prayer book comprised of 93 pages with 40 of whom being whole-page paintings. The special feature of the Prayerbook are the unordinary, essentially one-of-a-kind prayers for Saints who incidentally are not found in the current Compendia. The illustrated miniatures testify to the artistry and mastery of the prayer book, which also is of an impressively high value from the perspective of Art History as well. The art historian Paul Durrieu arranged two years before the fire to have the picture pages of the Turin Prayerbook printed in black and white. Thus a shred of the grandeur and beauty of this late middle-aged manuscript is still somewhat about to be seen.