Psalm CXXX 

This illumination of Psalm CXXX was made around 1410 by the Limbourg brothers as part of the *Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry*. Here we see King David kneeling in prayer outside a gothic building, perhaps the temple in Jerusalem. Above, an interceding figure pleads to God on his behalf. It’s an image of humility, but also of power. The *Très Riches Heures* was commissioned by the Duke of Berry, a member of the French royal family and an avid collector of illuminated manuscripts. Books like this were luxury objects, expressions of status and piety reserved for a wealthy elite. The Limbourg brothers were among the most celebrated artists of their time, and their work reflects the refined tastes of their aristocratic patrons. But the psalm also hints at the social anxieties of the period. The extravagant wealth of the nobility was increasingly at odds with the poverty and hardship faced by the majority of the population, tensions that would erupt in social unrest. To further understand this artwork, we might consult inventories of the Duke’s library, looking for other works that shed light on his collecting habits, or study the social and economic conditions of 15th-century France.