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Book Of Hours Influence

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Art has played a significant and irrefutable role in both political and religious aspects of everyday life throughout history. Perhaps one of the most significant pieces of art came out of The Middle Ages and is The Book of Hours. One example of both the political and social power this work of art had is shown more closely in the Tres Riche Heures.
Starting in the late Roman Empire and extending through the high Renaissance manuscripts were made throughout Europe. It was not until the 11th century, however, that this art was made by anyone other than monks in monasteries mainly due to the illiteracy of the laypeople at that time. By around 1200 other secular workshops were making and producing their own manuscripts and by the 15th century …show more content…

The Book of Hours is the most popular form of manuscript. The Book of Hours started as a prayer book for monks. It separates the day into eight sections, each having its own series of readings, songs and prayers. It is compiled of several different parts: a calendar of the year which included all the major feasts and special celebrations of the saints, gospel passages describing the coming of Christ, John’s description of the passion of the Christ, prayers of Mary the mother of Jesus, and the eight prayer times of the day. The Book of Hours allows for personal piety in that it gives the owner the ability to express their most intimate emotions through prayer and beautiful illustrations that it expressed. The sequences of prayers, most often Psalms, allowed the owner to stay home and not attend church, which gave their religion a personal touch that had previously been ruled by the …show more content…

The Limbourg brothers began painting the manuscript in 1414 just after Pol received an expensive gift for Jean de Berry. Unfinished at his death in 1416, it was valued at 500 livres which made it the third most expensive manuscript in his collection. Given that this was unfinished and unbound the value placed on the piece was extremely high. It was further embellished in the 1440s by an anonymous painter. Then from 14850-1489 it was completed and left to what is now its present state by Jean Colombe who was commissioned by the Duke of Savoy. This is a very unusual occurrence because the patrons of illuminists often settled for unfinished manuscripts, thus the fact that this was completed after so many years is indicative of the great value placed on the

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