Studying Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

In 2019, the staff at the Château de Chantilly ’s Musée Condé noticed that the Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry ( The Very Rich Hours of the Duke de Berry ) had undergone some changes. They embarked on an analysis and restoration project to repair the ravages of time and allow the public to rediscover the world’s most famous illuminated manuscript , that makes very rare appearances due to its fragility. For the first time since the death of Jean de Valois, the Duke of Berry, in 1416, an exhibition from June to October 2025 will bring together his entire collection of books of hours as well as his gisant sculpted by Jean de Cambrai, which will travel from Bourges Cathedral. “The early 15th-century Très Riches Heures manuscript with gold, silver and ink illuminations on moistened vellum is so precious, including in our minds, that we left nothing to chance,” says Musée Condé director Mathieu Deldicque . In 2022, Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF, National Library of France) conservators and illuminated manuscript experts conducted preliminary studies on site. In an exceptional move, from March to May 2023, the manuscript left Chantilly…