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The tomb of Duke Jean de Berry

But who is Duke Jean de Berry?

Duke Jean de Berry

Jean de France (1340-1416) was the third son of King Jean II le Bon and Bonne de Luxembourg. He became Count of Poitiers in 1356 and Duke of Berry in 1360. Taken hostage in England to pay his father's ransom following the Battle of Poitiers, he is often described as an unimpressive politician and mediocre administrator.

Fortunately, the patron of the arts redeemed the politician in the eyes of posterity. An art lover, Jean de Berry had an early taste for rare and beautiful works, and employed the best artists in the kingdom and Europe. He commissioned several books of prayers (or books of hours), including the Très riches Heures du Duc de Berry , now in the Musée Condé in Chantilly. The beauty of his châteaux (Riom, Dourdan, Étampes, Lusignan, Mehun-sur-Yèvre) has been preserved in the illuminated manuscripts he commissioned.

Détail du visage du duc Jean de Berry

© Patrick Müller / Centre des monuments nationaux

The Sainte Chapelle in Bourges, the setting for his tomb

In Bourges, the duke built a ducal palace complete with sanctuary. In August 1392, he obtained Pope Clement VII's authorization to found a Sainte Chapelle, named Chapelle Saint Sauveur, and to institute a chapter there. In May 1404, he publicly declared his intention to be buried there. Work on this majestic structure, the setting for his tomb, took some fifteen years and was completed in 1405.

Plundered by Protestants in 1562, partly destroyed by fire in 1693 and severely damaged by a hurricane in 1756, the Sainte Chapelle was demolished a year later. After nearly three centuries in the central part of the sanctuary's choir, the duke 's mausoleum and remains were transferred to the crypt of Bourges cathedral. Unfortunately, the tomb was partly destroyed by the revolutionaries , and the entire base was dismantled in 1793: the lower part, the arcatures and the mourners were scattered or destroyed. The upper part of the mausoleum is now on display in the crypt, while a complete plaster reconstruction of the tomb can be seen in the Palais Jacques Cœur.

Reconstitution du tombeau du duc Jean de Berry palais Jacques Coeur

© Benjamin Gavaudo / Centre des monuments nationaux

The duke's mausoleum

Erlande Brandenburg asserts that the tomb was commissioned from the artist Jean de Rupy dit Jean de Cambrai in 1404, during the duke's lifetime, as was the custom at the time since Charles V had set the example. The duke 's death in 1416, at the respectable age of 76, and a lack of funds would explain why work stopped and the mausoleum was built in two distinct periods.

The first constructioncampaign was undertaken by Jean de Rupy, known as Jean de Cambrai, a collaborator of André Beauneveu, while the second campaign, which can be dated from 1450 to 1457, was undertaken on the orders of Charles VII, his great-uncle's heir, and entrusted to two other artists.

The white marble recumbent figure bears an unmistakable resemblance to Jean de Berry. His face is treated realistically, the sculptor having translated the duke's bonhomie into marble. The body is clothed in two long dresses, the sleeves of which are fastened with elegantly sculpted buttons. The whole is covered with the ducal mantle, with inlays of black marble imitating ermine, on top-quality white marble.

At the duke's feet, a bear, resting his muzzle on his paws in a dolorous manner, provokes numerous interpretations... As king of the animals, he embodies power and strength. But this power is muzzled and chained. There's a symbolism here: Duke Jean would have liked to take the throne , but he was only the third son... and it's his elder brother, Charles, who will take power under the name of Charles V.

Détail de l'ours aux pieds du duc Jean de Berry

© Patrick Müller / Centre des monuments nationaux

To evoke the primitive state of the tomb, it is currently best to look at the reconstruction by Vierzon architect Paul Gauchery, which provides an approach to the monument but is not a faithful reproduction.

Originally, a funeral procession composed of variously-treated figures was placed on the base. This procession, set in niches, included 40 mourners on small pedestals. To date, 29 pleurants have been found, exhibited in Bourges, Paris, New York, Saint Petersburg and other collections.

Among the pleurants listed, five are in marble, from the first campaign and the work of Jean de Cambrai, while 24 are in alabaster and attributed to Étienne Bobillet and Paul Mosselman. The restlessness of the drapery, the breaking of the folds and reversal of the copings, and the hollows that diminish the volumes confirm the Burgundian influence of the second-period mourners, and recall the tomb of his brother Philippe le Hardi, now on display in Dijon.

Détails pleurants du tombeau du duc Jean de Berry

© Benjamin Gavaudo / Centre des monuments nationaux

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