Brief Biography-The Limbourg Brothers, Herman, Jean, and Paul, were all illuminators who had first trained as goldsmiths. Their father, Arnold van Limbourg, was a wood sculptor from Nijmegen and their uncle, Jean Malouel, was a court painter to the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold. The brothers worked in Paris for the duke, and when he died, they worked for his brother, the Duc de Berry. They illuminated the duke’s Books of Hours, his prayer books which are their most outstanding works. Paul travelled to Italy on a study trip in 1412 before starting their next assignment, the Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry.
All Three brothers died suddenly of an epidemic in 1416, along with the Duc de Berry. The Beautiful Hours book is at the Cloisters, New York and the Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry is held at the Château de Chantilly, France. A French miniature painter, Jean Colombe, put the finishing touches to the later manuscript in 1485.