Jean Colombe was a French miniature painter and illuminator of manuscripts. He is best known for his work in Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry or simply the Très Riches Heures is a richly decorated book of hours commissioned by John, Duke of Berry, around 1410...

. He is the brother of the sculptor Michel Colombe

Michel Colombe

Michel Colombe was a French sculptor whose work bridged the late Gothic and Renaissance styles.Born in Bourges into a family of artisans, he was active in Tours. Colombe's surviving works all date from his old age. He created the gisant figures of the two deceased children of Charles VIII of...

.

Work

In 1470–1472, Colombe created the miniatures of the Hours of Louis de Laval; around 1475, he illuminated the crusader

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

 chronicles, Les Passages d'oultre mer du noble Godefroy de Bouillon, du bon roy Saint Loys et de plusieurs vertueux princes, by Sébastien Mamerot. Both works had been commissioned by Louis de Laval. Between 1485 and 1490, Jean Colombe completed the decoration of the Très Riches Heures which had been left unfinished in 1416. He executed the image for the month of November (below the zodiac arch), completed the Limbourg brothers

Limbourg brothers

The Limbourg brothers, or in Dutch Gebroeders van Limburg , were famous Dutch miniature painters from the city of Nijmegen. They were active in the early 15th century in France and Burgundy, working in the style known as International Gothic...

' design for September, and retouched other images.

Further reading

• Thierry Delcourt, Fabrice Masanès, Danielle Quéruel (eds.): Sebastien Mamerot: Les Passages D'Outremer: A Chronicle of the Crusades Taschen 2009 ISBN 9783836505550 (facsimie edition)

External links