This is Juillet (July) in the body of work known as Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry created by the flemish painters, the Limbourg Brothers working for John, Duc de Berry (1340-1416) the third son of King John II of France. It's been identified as the work of Paul (or Pol) Limbourg.
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| Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry Folio 7, verso: July illumination on vellum Height: 22.5 cm (8.9 in). Width: 13.6 cm (5.4 in) Musée Condé, Chantilly, France |
It shows sheep being sheered - using big sheep shears - and grain being harvested using a sickle. The sky is of course blue and the clouds are high and sparse as one often gets in mid summer. A translation of a description in French (now updated as per Alyson's comment) reads as follows
"The labours of the month of July show the harvest and shearing of sheep. Two characters mow the wheat, each using a volant and a stick. A volant is a long, open sickle with the handle at the corner of the flat of the blade. With the help of the stick, they separate a bunch of wheat stems which they then cut with a pass of the blade. The harvesters advance by going around the outside of the parcel of land, working towards the centre. One of the harvesters has a whetstone on his belt. Two other characters, one of whom is a woman, use shears to cut the wool of sheep. With the exception of the imaginary mountains, the landscape shows, in the foreground, the Boivre River where it flows into the Clain, near the palace of the Count of Poitiers."In the background is the Palace of Poitiers - which was rebuilt by Jean I, duc de Berry between 1384-86.
Links:
- The Limbourg Brothers - and "September" 18 Sep 2012
- "October" - Limbourg Brothers (Autumn Landscape #11) 24 Oct 2012
- March: Peasants at Work on a Feudal Estate by Limbourg brothers 27 Mar 2012
I have always wanted to see these illuminations, but likely never will. Here, though, is a somewhat improved translation of the French text. I can find no word for volant, except that it is obviously a hand scythe of some sort.
ReplyDelete"The labours of the month of July show the harvest and shearing of sheep. Two characters mow the wheat, each using a volant and a stick. A volant is a long, open sickle with the handle at the corner of the flat of the blade. With the help of the stick, they separate a bunch of wheat stems which they then cut with a pass of the blade. The harvesters advance by going around the outside of the parcel of land, working towards the centre. One of the harvesters has a whetstone on his belt. Two other characters, one of whom is a woman, use shears to cut the wool of sheep. With the exception of the imaginary mountains, the landscape shows, in the foreground, the Boivre River where it flows into the Clain, near the palace of the Count of Poitiers."