TEFAF Maastricht Museum Restoration Fund Announces Musée Condé, Château de Chantilly, as Its 2025 Beneficiary
Jan 22, 2025 Maastricht
Picture courtesy of RMN-Grand Palais - Domaine de Chantilly - Michel Urtado
Maastricht, Netherlands – January 22, 2025: The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) has announced that the Musée Condé, Château de Chantilly, is the recipient of this year’s TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund (TMRF) in Maastricht. This annual grant, established in 2012, supports the vital work of the international art community in preserving artistic and cultural heritage.
With TEFAF’s funding, the Musée Condé will restore the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, one of the most important illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages. Created for John, Duke of Berry, the brother of King Charles V of France, the Book of Hours was painted by the renowned Limbourg brothers between c. 1411 and 1416. Left unfinished when the Limbourg brothers and their sponsor died in 1416, the manuscript was further added upon by Barthélemy d’Eyck in the 1440s and by the French miniaturist Jean Colombe around 1485; the Duke d’Aumale thereafter acquired it in 1856, a renowned art collector who left the Château de Chantilly to the Institut de France to display his collection, including the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.
Often considered the ‘Mona Lisa’ of prayer books and a true medieval icon, the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry cannot be displayed outside Chantilly due to the conditions imposed by the bequest of the Duke d’Aumale. Additionally, because of its fragility and value, it has never been available for public viewing for decades. The manuscript’s restoration now allows for the display of its legendary calendar, which will be detached from the binding and featured in an upcoming exhibition at the Musée Condé, alongside exceptional national and international loans that place it in its historical context and demonstrate its enduring influence from the 15thcentury to the present day. This exhibition–from June 7 to October 5, 2025–will give visitors an unprecedented opportunity to witness the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry in its full glory, following several months of analysis and restorative work by the onsite conservation team.
Picture courtesy of Bibliothèque du musée Condé, Château de Chantilly
Mathieu Deldicque, Director of the Musée Condé, Château de Chantilly, commented, “It is a great honor for the Musée Condé to receive the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund. The restoration of the world's most famous medieval manuscript with the support of the world's most prestigious art fair truly makes sense, and it is a great opportunity to showcase one of humanity's treasures and preserve it for future generations.”
Rachel Kaminsky, head of the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund committee, commented, “The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry is one of the most celebrated masterpieces of Western art—an extraordinary convergence of beauty, craftsmanship, and rarity. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to the manuscript’s conservation persuaded the TMRF committee to waive a common consideration: that TEFAF be a leading or sole project sponsor.”
TEFAF will again host a TMRF Talk presented by ICOM-CC, powered by Aon, this year on Saturday, March 15, at 1PM during TEFAF Maastricht 2025.
ABOUT TEFAF MUSEUM RESTORATION FUND
The TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund was established in 2012 to support and promote professional restoration and related scholarly research of significant museum artworks. Championing art in all its forms, the fund accepts grant applications from museums around the world, as well as artworks from any period.
ABOUT MUSÉE CONDÉ, CHÂTEAU DE CHANTILLY
An outstanding French heritage site, the Musée Condé at the Château de Chantilly is the legacy of one man—Henri of Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of the last King of the French, Louis-Philippe—and his extraordinary life. The leading collector of his time, the prince inherited the Château de Chantilly and transformed it into a showcase for his numerous masterpieces and priceless manuscripts. Its collection of artworks from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance to the 19th century is the second-largest in France. The château, museum, and collections were bequeathed to the Institut de France, its current owner, in 1886. More than 546,000 people visited the Château de Chantilly in 2024.
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TEFAF is a not-for-profit foundation that champions expertise, excellence, and diversity in the global art community. This is evidenced by the exhibitors selected for its two fairs, which occur annually in Maastricht and New York. TEFAF is an expert guide for private and institutional collectors, inspiring art lovers and buyers everywhere.
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