2-733-627 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Leaf from a Book of Hours: St. Barbara (2 of 2 Excised Leaves), c. 1465. The miniature from the volume's suffrages (short prayers or memorials to particular saints) is dedicated to St. Barbara. A popular saint in medieval Europe, Barbara was a citizen of late Roman Syria martyred at the hands of her own father because of her faith. She was regarded by medieval men and women as a protectress from sudden death. The Master of Jacques de Luxembourg had a strong sense of visual detail, particularly in architecture, which he typically combined with a flair for narrative. This points to his origin in eastern France or Flanders, though he may have actually worked in Paris.