LOS ANGELES, CA.- History played such an integral role in defining national identity in France throughout the high Middle Ages that some of the finest illumination of the period is located within the covers of history manuscripts. On view in the Exhibitions Pavilion at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, November 16, 2010 through February 6, 2011, Imagining the Past in France, 1250-1500 highlights one of the greatest chapters in the history of French art and the development of the French nation, when heroic tales of bygone eras came to life in lavish illuminated manuscripts. These images would allow the French to understand their present and plan for their future by celebrating an epic past. Imagining the Past in France is the first major exhibition devoted to the theme of history in manuscripts, focusing on the use