This «Seigneur des Lys» had a muddled mind and put pressure on his subjects, robbed his vassals and accumulated political errors, but was also a patron. He loved splendour, had a passion for construction and collected the most sumptuous pieces of art as well as the rarest manuscripts in his « library ». He transformed Bourges into a brilliant home for artistic productions thanks to the architects, sculptors, « miniaturistes” whom he gathered around him.

There is nothing left from “his “Sainte-Chapelle », and very little from his huge « Palais Ducal », and the high romantic ruins in Mehun-sur-Yèvre are a poor representation of how the prestigious castle was with its towers that were crowned with the lightest flamboyant gothic splendours. But the cathedral in Saint-Etienne owes him its large « housteau » (a rose window), and has sheltered his tomb since 1757, which was artistically made by Jean de Cambray. And who has never heard of the rarely perfect “enluminures” in the «Très Riches Heure du Duc de Berry”? They were started by the Limbourg brothers and finished much later, around 1485, by Jean Colombe, a painter from the Berry.

Jean de Berry’s patronage generated in Bourges a creative boost which didn’t stop until the Renaissance. His Ducal court enhanced the development of a luxurious craft industry and attracted rich merchants and money dealers.

(Source: « BERRY » Editions Bonneton)