Jean Colombe (Latin: Ioannes Colombus; c. 1430 – c. 1493) was a French miniature painter and illuminator of manuscripts. He is best known for his work in Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. He was a son of Philippe Colombe and his wife Guillemette and thus the brother of the sculptor Michel Colombe.

Jean Colombe
Bornc. 1430
Diedc. 1493 (aged 62–63)
NationalityFrench
Notable workLes Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry
Patron(s)Louis de Laval, Charles I, Duke of Savoy, Charlotte of Savoy
Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, November
The Council of Clermont from the Passages d'outremer

Work

edit

In 1470–1472, Colombe created the miniatures of the Heures de Louis de Laval; around 1475, he illuminated the crusader chronicles, Les Passages d'oultre mer du noble Godefroy de Bouillon, du bon roy Saint Loys et de plusieurs vertueux princes, by Sébastien Mamerot. Both works had been commissioned by Louis de Laval. Between 1485 and 1490, Jean Colombe completed the decoration of the Très Riches Heures which had been left unfinished in 1416. He executed the image for the month of November (below the zodiac arch), completed the Limbourg brothers’ design for September, and retouched other images.

Further reading

edit
  • Thierry Delcourt, Fabrice Masanès, Danielle Quéruel (eds.): Sebastien Mamerot: Les Passages D'Outremer: A Chronicle of the Crusades Taschen 2009 ISBN 978-3-8365-0555-0 (facsimie edition)
edit