Getty Museum

Livre de Bonnes Meurs

Date

about 1430

Medium

Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and pen and ink

Culture

French

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

Written in 1410 by the French preacher Jacques Legrand for Jean Duc de Berry (1340-1416), younger brother of King Charles V of France, the text in this manuscript features discussions pertaining to moral behavior and ethical values. This lavishly illuminated version was produced some two decades later in Avignon, a city in the southeastern part of France. After the Popes fled Rome due to internal corruption in the early fourteenth century, the city was the headquarters of the Papal court through to 1376. The court supplied opportunities to both local and foreign artists. The decoration of this manuscript reflects the artistic legacy of the Avignon Papal court, as the rich palette and patterned backgrounds are reminiscent of French illuminators, while the facial types of the figures indicate northern Italian influence. The border style, however, is characteristic of local Avignon artists, who tended to paint with an intricate, filigree style of decoration. The title translates to *The Book of Good Manners*, and is divided into five parts, with each part addressing a different class of society respectively: priests, clerics, princes, lords, and the common folk. The text emphasizes correct moral behavior, with text meant to remind the reader that their very lives are a gift from God.

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