In looking into the Book of Hours, Tres Riches Heures, and My Name is Red, I have found myself wondering about the role of the elite patrons of the illuminated manuscripts. The Duc de Berry was a secular elite whose wealth and influence allowed him to sponsor a religious work that served as a survey of all his lands, juxtaposing the Duc’s extravagance with his subject’s conditions. It seems like a very odd choice for a book of prayer. I would like to know just how much influence he had in what was being depicted and how much was the Limbourg brothers’ choice. Did they view their work as inherently religious or did they see it as a job for a patron?
The Persian illuminated manuscripts we looked at were not religious at all, probably partly owing to an aversion to idolatry, and My Name is Red seems to portray illumination as a largely secular pursuit in its account of the men working on the Sultan’s Book of Festivities. Illustrations are reserved for secular activities and traditional stories rather than religious devotion. In some ways they seem to be the opposite of the European focus for illustrations, with exceptions like the Tres Riches Heures. I look forward to more insights as we read more of the story.
I found the representation of activities and different valuations of subject matter in terms of illumination fascinating. I would love to know more about why the Sultans of Persia chose to create different types of illuminated books.