Jean de France, duc de Berry

The most lavish patron of the late Middle Ages, Jean de France, duc de Berry, whose title was linked to the Berry region in central France, was the son of King Jean le Bon. As count of Poitou, in western France, and later the first duc de Berry, he assembled an art collection unmatched in his time.

He commissioned the Très Riches Heures, a masterpiece of illumination created by the Limbourg brothers, left unfinished at his death in 1416.

A builder and collector, he transformed and expanded his châteaux at Mehun-sur-Yèvre, in central France, Bourges, also in central France, and Poitiers, in western France, to showcase his taste for luxury and beauty.