Painting techniques in the Boucicaut Hours, and in Jacques Coene's colour recipes as found in Jean Lebègue's Libri Colorum

Abstract : The Book of Hours of Jean II Ie Meingre, Maréchal de Boucicaut, is an outstanding example of the advanced state of painting in France at the time of Jean de Berry. It is not surprising that so many art historians held it in such high regard in their studies on the painting of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Our research on the Boucicaut Hours aims at comparing the results of the experiments we carried out on the illuminations with colour recipes found in contemporary treatises, specifically the technical recipes in Jean Lebegue's Libri Colorum. Particular attention is paid to innovatory methods of painting, such as the consistent use of effects of light and shadow.