November: Feeding Acorns to the Pigs - Limbourg brothers

A detailed reproduction of the November calendar page from the Très Riches Heures, depicting a swineherd and his pigs in a woodland setting.

This image originates from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, a celebrated book of hours commissioned by Jean, Duke of Berry. The Limbourg brothers, Paul, Herman, and Jean, executed the work during the early fifteenth century. The scene depicts the month of November, focusing on the seasonal task of pannage, where swineherds drive pigs into the woods to forage for fallen acorns.

The composition follows the traditional structure of the calendar pages within the manuscript. The upper section contains a lunette featuring the zodiac signs of Scorpio and Sagittarius, alongside a chariot representing the sun. This astronomical data provided the reader with the necessary information to track the liturgical year and the movement of the heavens.

Below the celestial arch, the earthly scene unfolds with a focus on rural labour. A man stands in the foreground, gesturing towards the trees, while his dog watches the herd of pigs rooting in the soil. The trees are rendered with a sense of verticality, creating a dense woodland area that recedes into the background. To the left, a fortified structure sits upon a hill, providing a sense of scale and location. The use of gold leaf and pigments on vellum demonstrates the technical skill required for such small-scale work. The figures are depicted with a degree of naturalism that was characteristic of the International Gothic style, reflecting the courtly interest in both the lives of the peasantry and the precise observation of the natural world. This print captures the detail of the original illumination, preserving the colours and the specific spatial arrangement of the medieval calendar page.