Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

Title: Calendar Page for August
Creator: Herman, Jean, and Paul de Limbourg, painters
Description: The time for wheat threshing, according to the Labors of the Months. Some peasants labor in the fields in the background while others swim in the nude. In the foreground members of the nobility go hawking. The peasants’ nudity contrasts with the nobility’s rich clothing, and their wild movements (particularly the spread-eagled figure in the water) contrast with the nobility’s measured body language. Other images depicting this month often show a peasant stripped nude or down to his underclothes due to the heat. In the background is the Château d’Etampes of the Duke de Berry. Above, Apollo directs his chariot between the symbols of Leo and Virgo.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Rights: Public Domain
Subject (See Also): Animals Architecture Astrology Hunting Nobility Nude Peasantry Sexuality Work
Geographic Area: France
Century: 15
Date: ca. 1404
Related Work: Trés Riches Heures
Current Location: Paris, Musée Condé, MS 65, fol. 8v
Original Location:
Artistic Type (Category): Digital Images; Manuscript illuminations
Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Vellum (parchment); Paint
Donor: Layman; Jean, Duke of Berry
Height/Width/Length(cm): 13.6 cm/22.5 cm/
Inscription:
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