Map of France

The Du Bourg Book of Hours is thought to have been created in Tours, France, which is in the Centre region. During the 15th century, Charles VIII was king of France, and had set up a workshop in his castle for Jean Bourdichon, who was the current royal painter in Tours. While there, Jean Bourdichon painted and created many illuminated manuscripts for the king and other weathly customers. More importantly, however, is that the anonymous artist of the Du Bourg Book of Hours, the Master of Jean Charpentier, was a follower of Jean Bourdichon during the same time. Furthermore, scholars such as François Avril have noticed that the Master of Jean Charpentier appears to have collaborated with Jean Bourdichon at various points in time to create illuminated manuscripts. 

On the other hand, the family that we know owned the Du Bourg Book of Hours, the Du Bourgs, lived in Vienne, France. Although Vienne is a ways from Tours, there exists the possibility that the ancestors of the Du Bourg family could have lived in or around Tours, and might have either purchased the book or inherited it. Unfortunately, I was unable to verify this posibility during my research.

 

 

Text sources: 

"Jean Bourdichon", The J. Paul Getty Museum, accessed April 20, 2014.

"The Kathrina Hours (Use of Rome)", Les Enluminures. http://www.lesenluminures-france1500.com/pdf/1_boh.pdf, accessed April 21, 2014.

Master of Jean Charpentier, the "Du Bourg Book of Hours". Translated by Edward Gallager, Professor of French. Tours: Workshop of the Master of Jean Charpentier, 1475.   

 

Image source: 

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/europe/france/map_of_france.jpg, accessed April 21, 2014

Du Bourg Book of Hours
Map of France