Art in Europe: "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" and the Chateau de Chantilly

In this first art-themed blog entry, I think of an artwork I want to see, hunt down the place where it is kept, and then (despite reading in several blogs and travel articles that I can see it there) find out that it is no longer on public view and has been replaced by a facsimile version. Nonetheless, the whole process turns out to have been worthwhile.

The artwork is "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry", an illuminated manuscript and book of hours created in the early 1400's, most famous for its calendar pages. A book of hours is essentially a prayer book, but the calendar pages of this particular illuminated manuscript are famous for their vivid depiction of daily life at the time, including both the nobility and the peasants. Most of the work was created by the Limbourg Brothers, but it was later added to by other artists. Here is the image for February: 

February from "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry," depicting winter in a peasant village.

I learned about this artwork through my one and only art history course at Smith College when I was about 21 years old. It's hard to articulate exactly what strikes me about the images - but I think it has to do with how rich in narrative possibility they are. You can really enter into these people's lives through the manuscript, and it's a picture of a whole community rather than portraits of individuals. Unlike historical or biblical paintings, you can fill out the story with your own imaginings about the people and situations. It is the type of art I would have loved to have had in a storybook when I was a child. In a weird way, it's like a fine art version of those Richard Scarry books I used to spend hours poring over in my grandparents' TV room. The Scarry books helped me to understand my own world, while this manuscript gives me insight into another age.

Les Très Riches Heures du Busytown.

It isn't just the narratives that attract me, however. The vivid colors and the playfulness of many of the scenes have also remained in my memory all this time. Here is a website where you can see each of the calendar pages followed by a brief description. http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/labors-of-the-months-from-the-tres-riches-heures/

It was, then, with great excitement that I learned that "Les Très Riches Heures" might be found on display at the Chateau de Chantilly, a mere 45 minute day-trip from Paris, and that, moreover, entrance to the Chateau was covered under the Paris Museum Pass, which I already intend to purchase. I began researching the chateau and all its other attractions. 

Overhead view of the Chateau de Chantilly and some of its grounds.

What I found was exciting. First, the gardens are reportedly quite beautiful. They are divided into an English garden, a Chinese-English garden which includes the Hameau (hamlet, said by some to have inspired Marie Antoinette's own rustic hideaway), the small park (a wooded area with statues), and the Grand Parterre (the grand landscaping in front of the castle, visible in the picture above.) 

The "Isle of Love" or "L'ile d'Amour" in the English garden.

 Second, the chateau's museum contains a great collection of older French and Italian art, including works by Raphael, Titian, Delacroix, Fra Angelico and Antoine Watteau. Its collection cannot be loaned out to other museums, so the only opportunity to see them is either in reproduction or in the chateau. While none of these artists, other than Delacroix, are among my favorites, I'm always looking to educate my eye and explore the works of famous (and obscure) artists. Here are some of the images on display, as selected by the official Chateau de Chantilly website:

"The Oyster Lunch", Jean Francois de Troy, one of the many works on display at Chateau de Chantilly, and the kind of fun, slice of life painting I am inclined to appreciate the most. 

"The Three Graces" by Raphaël, probably one of the most well-known works in the collection.

"Self-Portrait at Twenty-Four" by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Apparently the artist worked on this over his lifetime, only feeling it was completely finished in his sixties.

"Stained Glass Window of Psyche and Love Story", French School of the sixteenth century.

In addition to the gardens and the works of art on display, there are a number of other attractions which don't necessarily hold much interest for me, but may interest others. The stables are said to be palace-like, and equestrian shows are presented at the chateau. For you non-vegans out there, apparently they have really amazing locally made whipped cream which you can sample at the restaurant at the chateau or in town. The chateau and its grounds apparently featured in the James Bond movie "A View to a Kill." Additionally, Chantilly is apparently one of the places where "Chantilly lace" originates from, and there is a lace museum in the town.

The seventh prince of Condé, Louis-Henri Bourbon, believed he would be reincarnated as a horse, so he had these grand stables designed for his future life.

Due to all these attractions, there's a strong possibility that I will visit this chateau, despite having found out through more careful research that the original impetus for the visit - "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" was taken out of public view for preservation purposes in the 1980s and replaced with a facsimile.  Many travel bloggers and even book authors seem unaware of the switch, however, which makes one wonder how important authenticity is.  There are many facsimiles of artworks and architecture throughout Europe and the world, and often, due to wars, the original of something doesn't even exist. The entire town of Munich, for example, was rebuilt after World War II, based on photographs taken by the Nazis in anticipation of the city's destruction. If the facsimile of a great work can bring aesthetic pleasure and intellectual interest, isn't it still worth seeing? 

However, the most famous images from "Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry" are widely available on-line, and full facsimile versions are available in book form. It certainly wouldn't be worth a journey across the seas just to see a copy you might buy from Amazon. In the end, though, a 45-minute day trip from Paris and the promise of leisurely walks in gardens said to be much less crowded than those of Versailles are a good draw. That and the possibility of falling in love with another of the Chateau's famous artworks, perhaps one that is currently unknown to me, have put the Chateau de Chantilly on my travel plans map.

To explore the Chateau de Chantilly for yourself, please see their official website: http://www.domainedechantilly.com/en