The
Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (; or
Très Riches Heures) is the most famous and possibly the best surviving example of French Gothic
manuscript illumination, showing the late
International Gothic phase of the style. It is a
book of hours: a collection of prayers to be said at the
canonical hours. It was created between c. 1412 and 1416 for the extravagant royal
bibliophile and
patron John, Duke of Berry, by the
Limbourg brothers. When the three painters and their sponsor died in 1416, possibly victims of
plague, the manuscript was left unfinished. It was further embellished in the 1440s by an anonymous painter, who many art historians believe was
Barthélemy d'Eyck. In 1485-1489, it was brought to its present state by the painter
Jean Colombe on behalf of the
Duke of Savoy. Acquired by the
Duc d'Aumale in 1856, the book is now MS 65 in the
Musée Condé,
Chantilly, France.