Turin-Milan Hours

The Turin-Milan Hours ranks among the most important illuminated manuscripts in Western art history. Commissioned around 1380 or 1390, possibly by Jean, Duke of Berry, this book of hours contains miniatures attributed to Jan van Eyck or an artist working closely with him. Palazzo Madama in Turin now owns the surviving Turin fragment.

The original volume contained roughly 400 folios with at least 280 illuminations. It was divided in two: one part remained in France and now resides at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, while the second went to the Low Countries where work continued for three decades. Art historians identify several miniatures by an artist called "Hand G," whose sophisticated handling of light, atmosphere, and detail resembles Van Eyck's larger paintings.

A 1904 fire at Turin's National Library destroyed several of Hand G's pages, making surviving images even more precious. The manuscript features refined execution with delicate detail, rich color, and notable light effects. Turin acquired its fragment in 1935.