April — The Betrothal
The Limbourg Brothers (Herman, Paul & Jean de Limbourg); later folios completed by Jean Colombe, c. 1412–1416
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 8 x 10 in, Wrong shape: a 21% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyA young couple, richly dressed in blue and gold, exchange a ring at the center of a walled garden, attendants gathered close, while the Château de Dourdan's round towers rise behind them and figures gather flowers along a riverbank. Scholars still debate exactly which betrothal is depicted — candidates include members of the Berry and Bourbon families — but the scene's function is clear: April as the month of courtship and renewal, the whole panel bathed in the pale new green particular to a French spring. The zodiac lunette carries Aries into Taurus. It is the gentlest folio in the calendar cycle, love and land coming into leaf together.
- Maker
- The Limbourg Brothers (Herman, Paul & Jean de Limbourg); later folios completed by Jean Colombe
- Date
- c. 1412–1416
- Medium of the original
- Illuminated manuscript
- Original held by
- Musée Condé, Chantilly
- Credit
- Musée Condé, Chantilly
- Rights
- Public domain, verified
- Catalogue number
- PA-00909
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 8 x 10 in | Wrong shape: a 21% crop |
| 8 x 12 in | 145 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 11 x 14 in | Wrong shape: a 19% crop |
| 12 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 15% crop |
| 12 x 18 in | 96 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 16 x 20 in | Wrong shape: a 21% crop |
| 16 x 24 in | 72 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 18 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 15% crop |
| 20 x 30 in | 58 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 30 in | Wrong shape: a 21% crop |
| 24 x 36 in | 48 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 40 in | Wrong shape: a 15% crop |
| 36 x 48 in | Wrong shape: a 15% crop |
| 40 x 60 in | 29 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 1,160 x 1,825 px, srgb
- Tone
- Darks 56, lights 209 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0.1% vivid
- Sharpness
- 2.53
- Notes
- Neutrals lean warm (yellow): the paper and varnish of the original, kept as scanned
The Scriptorium
Knotwork, spiral, and the beast that becomes a letter.
All 35 pieces from The Scriptorium
