Because of this, the Petites Heures exemplifies the "rupture in style" that occurred in French illumination in the final two decades of the fourteenth century.

[9] His characteristics have been described as "rather cool, dusty colours" and a "delightful, often humorous depiction of animals", also rocky scenery and agitated figures with expression.

Characteristics are a representation of space influenced by Italian painting and a "more realistic rendering of reality" based on collaboration with Jan Boudolf of Bruges.

[11] The duke commissioned the Petites Heures around the same time as his older brother Charles V acquired the Savoy Hours, "one of the grandest books of the period" executed in about 1335–40.

To the Savoy Hours, Charles added a new cover with jeweled clasps, further texts, and copious miniatures by the Master of the Bible of Jean de Sy.

Comparison of the two books reveals that Jean de France modeled the content and structure of the Petites Heures on his brother's manuscript, which had "clearly aroused his competitive spirit, and no doubt, envy.

"[12][f] In the Petites Heures Berry pays homage to his parents, Jean the Good and Bonne of Luxembourg, through instructive prayers and texts copied from their respective books.

Berry, "veritably obsessed with self-display", associates himself with the tale in several of his commissions, the images providing an opportunity to display "ostentatious humility".

208r) is identified by Meiss as an example of the Passion Master's later style, "which displays a new interest in the problems of relating depth"[11] It is an early example of a new trend in depictions of John, where the harsh desert setting was replaced with a fertile landscape, most probably inspired by Fra Domenico Cavalca's Life of St. John the Baptist (1320–42), in which "the desert was described as a place of great natural beauty, full of flowers, trees, and animals.