The Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg, Duchess of Normandy

Jean Le Noir

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The coat of arms that often appears in this book indicates that it was made for Bonne of Luxembourg, a Bohemian princess who married John, duke of Normandy in 1332. She died of plague in 1349; her husband later became John the Good, king of France. The use of grisaille (shades of grey) for the figures, the richly colored, decorative backgrounds, and the marginal images reflect the influence of Jean Pucelle, the artist of the Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux in The Cloisters collection. This manuscript is likely by Jean Le Noir—an illuminator in the service of John the Good—who collaborated with his daughter, the enlumineresse (female illuminator) Bourgot. This manuscript apparently passed into the collection of Bonne’s oldest son, Charles V of France, who established a royal library. Her third son, Jean, duc de Berry, was the patron of The Cloisters’ Belles Heures.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art