Reading Jean Bourdichon's biographical data is a brief stumbling block: The date of birth is 1457 or 1459, as well as the place of birth, the city of Tours or the province of Bourbonnais. This makes it clear that the French painter comes from a time when there were no administrative structures with complete civil status records. It was an exciting era of upheaval and great discoveries that marked the end of the Middle Ages. A few years before Jean Bourdichon saw the light of day, Gutenberg invented letterpress printing. And when Jean was a three-cheese-tall, the daredevil sailor Christopher Columbus discovered America. As I said, it was a very exciting time. If there had been an internet back then, people would have clicked on the latest news with uninterrupted fascination.
Jean Bourdichon's artistic talent must have been evident from his early years, as he received instruction from Jean Fouquet. This painter and teacher was one of the most important book and panel painters of his time, who found much inspiration in Italian artists. Fouquet's influence became a formative influence on the work of Jean Bourdichon. He later passed on his knowledge as a teacher as well. He even became head of the school of Tours. In his paintings, the tension between the early Middle Ages and the beginning of Modernism becomes clear. For medieval paintings show people in woodcut fashion without emotions. Jean, on the other hand, already began to portray the individual person in his social environment. Thus he made poverty or manual work the subject of his pictures.
In his painting Jean Bourdichon developed into a technical virtuoso. However, it was not as if he himself was bubbling over with his own creative ideas. But apparently the fact that the young Bourdichon had mastered painting techniques ingeniously had spread as far as the French royal court. From the end of the 15th to the beginning of the 16th century Bourdichon was court painter. He was in the service of three French monarchs: King Louis XI, Charles VIII and Louis XII. His function was that of a miniaturist and manuscript illuminator. He was therefore responsible for painting small portraits and illustrating books. Although book printing was invented, it was by no means widespread, and book manuscripts were still a unique treasure.
Jean Bourdichon became famous for his illustration of the Book of Hours (Prayer Book) by Anne de Bretagne. This Anne was an impressive personality. Not only was she the Duchess of Brittany, but thanks to three different husbands, she was at times Queen of France, Sicily and Jerusalem. Anne was an educated, strong-willed woman who found strength in prayer. She therefore attached great importance to her personal prayer book and had it lavishly illustrated by the court artist Jean Bourdichon. The Book of Hours was not only Anne's personal companion, but also served to educate her son. It is still fascinating today to see with what attention to detail Bourdichon depicted biblical motifs and uplifting scenes in this Book of Hours.
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.jpg "The Holy Trinity, Miniature from the Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany, Queen of France (1477-1514) by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Bathsheba Bathing by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Presentation in the Temple by Jean Bourdichon")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-36854).jpg "The Four Conditions of Society: The Wild State by Jean Bourdichon")
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_received_six_bourgeois_from_Genes_kneeling_(25_April_1507)_-_(MeisterDrucke-1065570).jpg "Louis XII Received Six Bourgeois from Genes Kneeling (Miniature) by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Botanical: Chamomile with Ladybug and Dragonfly by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Manuscript Leaf with the Annunciation from a Book of Hours, ca. 1485-90 by Jean Bourdichon")
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_attacked_Genes_with_his_troops_in_1507_M_-_(MeisterDrucke-1067561).jpg "King Louis XII Attacked Genoa with His Troops in 1507. Miniature from")
_attacked_Genes_with_his_troops_in_1507_M_-_(MeisterDrucke-1067561).jpg)
.jpg "Manuscript Leaf with the Annunciation from a Book of Hours, French, ca. 1485-90 by Jean Bourdichon")
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_Queen_of_France_in_prayer_with_her_holy_-_(MeisterDrucke-1053866).jpg "Portrait of Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, in prayer with her holy patron saint Saint Anne, Saint Helene and Saint Ursule. Miniature from")
_Queen_of_France_in_prayer_with_her_holy_-_(MeisterDrucke-1053866).jpg)
_to_Genes_in_April_1507_Mini_-_(MeisterDrucke-1054021).jpg "The triumphal entrance of King Louis XII to Genoa in April 1507. Miniature taken from")
_to_Genes_in_April_1507_Mini_-_(MeisterDrucke-1054021).jpg)
_-_(MeisterDrucke-1062482).jpg "The Genoese Attacked the Castellacio de Genes Guarded by the French (12 March 1507). Miniature by Jean Bourdichon in")
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.jpg "The Four Conditions of Society: Poverty by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Visitation Book of Hours by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer, Accompanied by Saints Michael, Charlemagne, Louis, and Denis by Jean Bourdichon")
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_Calendar_leaf_for_the_month_of_-_(MeisterDrucke-226896).jpg "Hours of Louis XII (formerly Hours of Henry VII), Calendar Leaf for the Month of February, c.1490-1510 by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Louis XII entering Genoa, engraved by Gautier after an illustration in the")
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.jpg "The Four Conditions of Society: Work by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "St. Luke Writing, from a Book of Hours by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Dedication Miniature of the Voyage to Genoa: Jean Marot Presents His Work to Anne of Brittany by Jean Bourdichon")
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 entering Genoa under a canopy followed - (MeisterDrucke-263046).jpg "Louis XII (1462-1515) Entering Genoa Under a Canopy, Followed by Four Cardinals, from the")
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.jpg "Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer, Accompanied by Saints Michael, Charlemagne, Louis, and Denis by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Adoration of the Magi by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Leaf from a Book of Hours: King David by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Anne of Brittany with St. Anne, St. Ursula and St. Helen, miniature from the Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany, c.1503-8 by Jean Bourdichon")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-1441236).jpg "The Kiss of Judas, end of 15th century by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Pentecost or Descent of the Holy Spirit, from a Book of Hours by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Circumcision of Christ, from a Book of Hours by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Virgo and Treading Grapes, Calendar for the feast days celebrated in September, c.1500 by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Death of a Poor Man by Jean Bourdichon")
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_handing_over_his_work_Voyage_to_Genoa_to_Anne_of_-_(MeisterDrucke-1081290).jpg "The poet Jean Marot handing over his work Voyage to Genoa to Anne of Brittany, ca 1508, miniature by Jean Bourdichon by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "December - baking by Robinet Testard")
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.jpg "The Presentation in the Temple by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Four Conditions of Society: Nobility by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Virgin receiving the Annunciation, from the")
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.jpg "The Nativity by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Assumption of the Virgin, from a Book of Hours by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Annunciation to the Shepherds by Jean Bourdichon")
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_Admiral_of_France_par_Bourdichon_-_(MeisterDrucke-1003795).jpg "Portrait of Louis Malet de Graville, Admiral of France by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Man of Sorrows at the Last Judgment by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Flight into Egypt by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Leaf from the Hours of Louis XII by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "The Annunciation by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Saint Christopher by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 2-Augustus by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Dedication Miniature of the Voyage to Genoa by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Voyage to Genoa by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Bathsheba Bathing (Book of Hours) by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 11-Titus by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 9-Vitellius by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Lamentation of the Dead Christ by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 16-Antoninus Pius by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 5-Claudius by Jean Bourdichon")
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_-_(MeisterDrucke-995764).jpg "Leaf from a Book of Hours: The Mass of St Gregory by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 1-Caesar by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Matthew the Evangelist by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "John the Evangelist by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 3-Tiberius by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Mark the Evangelist by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Pentecost by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 10-Vespasian by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 7-Galba by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Luke the Evangelist by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 13-Nerva by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 6-Nero by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 14-Trajan by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Horae ad usum Parisiensem, known as Heures de Charles VIII by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Book of Hours by Georges Trubert")
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.jpg "Nativity Book of Hours by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Bathsheba Bathing from the Hours of Louis XII by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 12-Domitian by Jean Bourdichon")
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.jpg "Description of the Twelve Caesars with Their Figures 4-Caligula by Jean Bourdichon")
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