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Annunciation (van Eyck, Washington)
Encyclopedia
The Annunciation is an oil painting by the Early Netherlandish
master Jan van Eyck
, from around 1434-1436. It is in the National Gallery of Art
, in Washington D.C. It was originally on panel
but has been transferred to canvas. It is thought that it was the left (inner) wing of a triptych
; there has been no sighting of the other wings since before 1817. It is a highly complex work, whose iconography
is still debated by art historians.
The picture depicts the Annunciation
by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the son of God (Luke
1:26-38). The inscription shows his words: "AVE GRÃ. PLENA" or "Hail, full of grace...". She modestly draws back and responds, "ECCE ANCILLA DÑI." or "Behold the handmaiden
of the Lord". Her words are painted upside down for God above to see. The Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
descend to her on seven rays of light
from the upper window to the left, with the dove symbolising the Holy Spirit
following the same path. "This is the moment God's plan for salvation is set in motion. Through Christ's human incarnation the old era of the Law is transformed into a new era of Grace
".
. The book she is reading here is too large to be a lady's Book of Hours
; as in other paintings she is engaged in serious study in a part of the Temple (one medieval authority specified that she was reading the Book of Isaiah when Gabriel arrived). The van Eycks were almost the first to use this setting in panel painting, but it appears earlier in illuminated manuscript
s, and in an altarpiece of 1397 from the same monastery this painting was probably ordered for.
The architecture moves from older, round Romanesque
forms above, to (slightly) pointed Gothic arches below, with the higher levels largely in darkness, and the floor level well-lit. The gloom of the Old Covenant
is about to be succeeded by the light of the New Covenant
. The flat timber roof is in poor repair, with planks out of place. The use of Romanesque architecture to identify Jewish rather than Christian settings is a regular feature of the paintings of van Eyck and his followers, and other paintings show both styles in the same building in a symbolic way.
The decoration of the Temple is naturally all derived from the Old Testament
, but the subjects shown are those believed in the Middle Ages to prefigure the coming of Christ the Messiah
. In the floor tiles David
's slaying of Goliath (centre front), foretells Christ's triumph over the devil. Behind this, Samson
pulls down the Temple of the Philistines, prefiguring both the Crucifixion and the Last Judgement, according to medieval authorities. To the left, Delilah
is cutting Samson's hair (Betrayal of Christ), and behind he slays the Philistines (Christ's triumph over sin). The death of Absalom
and possibly that of Abimelech
are identified by some art historians, although only tiny sections are visible. Erwin Panofsky
, who first developed much of this analysis, proposed a scheme for the significance of the astrological symbols in the round border tiles, and other versions have been suggested.
The rear wall has a single stained glass window, where Jehovah stands, above triple plain-glazed windows below, which perhaps suggest the Christian trinity. On either side of the single window are dim wall-paintings of the finding of Moses
by Pharaoh
's daughter (left, pre-figuring the Annunciation itself), and Moses receiving the Ten Commandments
(right, paralleling the New Covenant
Christ would bring). Below them are roundels with Isaac
and Jacob
, for which various symbolic functions have been proposed. The lilies are a traditional attribute of Mary, standing for purity. The empty stool may be an "empty throne
", a symbol for Christ going back to early Byzantine art
.
It has been suggested that Mary has been given the features of Isabella of Portugal
, wife of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
, who may well have commissioned the painting from van Eyck, his (part-time) court painter. Mary wears a robe in her usual blue, which is trimmed in ermine
, reserved for royalty, which would suit this theory, although the Middle Ages placed great emphasis on Mary's royal descent
in any case. As is usual, especially in the North, Mary's features are less attractive than those of Gabriel; being a sexless angel there was considered to be no possibility of his beauty causing inappropriate thoughts in the onlooker. Neither figure has a halo
; these were being dispensed with in Early Netherlandish art in the interests of realism - eventually the Italians would follow. Mary's posture is ambiguous; it is not clear if she is standing, kneeling or sitting.
where this theme is most developed it can be shown that the figure of Mary is some sixty feet high, filling much of the height of a tall Gothic church. It is not so clear that any effect of this type is intended here; there are no architectural fittings to give a clear scale to the building. If for example the setting were a first floor room, or one giving on to a courtyard, the windows might be lower than is normal in a medieval church. The size of the plain glass roundels does not seem disproportionate with the figures.
Another of van Eyck's themes, and that of other Early Netherlandish painters, is indicated by the large cope
over a dalmatic
worn by Gabriel
. This would, in a human, mark him as a celebrant or attendant at a High Mass
. Mary is facing a table with a book about the right size to be a Gospel Book
or Missal
upon it, and has her hands raised in a gesture known as the expansis manibus. This is certainly to convey the alarm and uncertainty with which she usually greets the surprising apparition of Gabriel and his news, but is also a gesture used by a priest at certain points of a Mass
. The painting has been connected with the Golden Mass ("Missa Aurea"), a liturgical drama
, or dramatised Mass, popular in the Netherlands at the time, which included a staging of the Annunciation as the Gospel
reading. More generally, this is part of a common theme in Early Netherlandish art, where Mary, as intermediary between the faithful and God, is compared to, or seen as, a priest celebrating Mass. Her personal sacrifice of her son is compared to the ritual sacrifice enacted by the priest in the Mass. In a surviving extreme example in the Louvre
she is shown clearly wearing vestments and celebrating mass at an altar
; more often, as here, the comparison is made more subtly.
or Adoration of the Magi are considered most likely for the central panel, at least twice as wide as this one, with a Visitation of Mary or Presentation of Jesus on the right-hand wing matching this one. The outer sides of the wings would probably have been painted in some fashion, but if there was a full scene, or even a figure in grisaille
on the back of this, it is unlikely it would have been discarded when the painting was transferred to canvas in the 19th century. No doubt the themes of this wing would originally have related to those in the other wings in ways we cannot now guess.
A cleaning in 1998, and examination by modern technical methods such as infrared reflectograms, has revealed much about van Eyck's technique here, which is consistent with other works of his such as the Arnolfini Portrait
. His underdrawing
has been revealed, and so have many changes made in the course of painting the work.
Van Eyck's superb oil painting technique is evident throughout. Gold leaf
is only used for the seven rays coming in from the left; paint is used for all the gold on Gabriel, often worked wet-on-wet
to achieve the textural effects of his brocade
d clothes. In a shadowy area behind the stool van Eyck worked a glaze with his fingers. The play of light over the many different textures in the painting is brilliantly rendered, and the illusionistic detail, especially in Gabriel's rich costume, is exceptional.
Apart from several small changes in the position of hands and faces, the under-drawing shows that the small pilasters on the left wall were originally planned to be repeated on the rear wall, and to be much taller, reaching nearly to the roof, on both. The paint on the rear wall is thicker than on the left wall, so he may have painted the pilasters before changing his mind. In the underdrawing the ceiling planks are all in place, and there was also a light source to the right, for which the shadows are drawn.
The narrative scenes on the tiles replace a simpler decorative plan in the underdrawing, and the stool has become much larger. The vase of lilies was not only absent in the underdrawing, but was not reserved, that is to say that a space was not left for it in the paint for the Virgin's robe or the floor. This suggests it was only added late in the course of painting.
Examination of other major van Eyck works reveals similar developments from the underdrawing, and in the course of painting, in these works. It seems van Eyck, perhaps acting with clerical advisers, although he appears to have been a considerable reader himself, liked to add further complexity to his compositions in the course of work on them.
The range of dates given for the painting, was previously from 1428-29 (Panofsky and others) to 1436-37, but the discovery in 1959 of a date of 1437 on an altarpiece in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
, Dresden
has considerably changed all van Eyck dating, and "makes it all but impossible to continue dating the Annunciation before 1432" (Hand). The painting appears stylistically to come between the Ghent Altarpiece
and late works such as the Berlin Virgin in a church.
Two authorities have considered the painting to belong to Jan's brother Hubert van Eyck
, who died in 1426. It is thought that the recent cleaning or technical investigation has tended to confirm the majority view that it is an autograph work by Jan.
of the painting, as far as it is known, is:
Early Netherlandish painting
Early Netherlandish painting refers to the work of artists active in the Low Countries during the 15th- and early 16th-century Northern renaissance, especially in the flourishing Burgundian cities of Bruges and Ghent...
master Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
, from around 1434-1436. It is in the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
, in Washington D.C. It was originally on panel
Panel painting
A panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel made of wood, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for...
but has been transferred to canvas. It is thought that it was the left (inner) wing of a triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
; there has been no sighting of the other wings since before 1817. It is a highly complex work, whose iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
is still debated by art historians.
The picture depicts the Annunciation
Annunciation
The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...
by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the son of God (Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
1:26-38). The inscription shows his words: "AVE GRÃ. PLENA" or "Hail, full of grace...". She modestly draws back and responds, "ECCE ANCILLA DÑI." or "Behold the handmaiden
Handmaiden
A handmaiden is a female attendant, assistant, domestic worker , or slave.-Religion:Norse goddesses had handmaidens, . The biblical Mary referred to herself as "the handmaid of the Lord" in acceptance of becoming pregnant by the Holy Ghost.A man might use a handmaiden as a concubine to bear his...
of the Lord". Her words are painted upside down for God above to see. The Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are a medieval enumeration of seven spiritual gifts probably encodified by Thomas Aquinas along with five intellectual virtues and four other groups of ethical characteristics. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the...
descend to her on seven rays of light
Seven Rays
The seven rays is an occult concept that has appeared in several religions and esoteric philosophies, since at least the 6th century BCE, of the Aryan peoples in both Western culture and in India...
from the upper window to the left, with the dove symbolising the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
following the same path. "This is the moment God's plan for salvation is set in motion. Through Christ's human incarnation the old era of the Law is transformed into a new era of Grace
Divine grace
In Christian theology, grace is God’s gift of God’s self to humankind. It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man - "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" - that takes the form of divine favour, love and clemency. It is an attribute of God that is most...
".
The Temple
The setting develops this theme. Mary was believed in the Middle Ages to have been a very studious girl who was engaged by the Temple of Jerusalem with other selected maidens to spin new curtains for the Holy of HoliesHoly of Holies
The Holy of Holies is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle and later the Temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the First Temple, which could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur...
. The book she is reading here is too large to be a lady's Book of Hours
Book of Hours
The book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
; as in other paintings she is engaged in serious study in a part of the Temple (one medieval authority specified that she was reading the Book of Isaiah when Gabriel arrived). The van Eycks were almost the first to use this setting in panel painting, but it appears earlier in illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...
s, and in an altarpiece of 1397 from the same monastery this painting was probably ordered for.
The architecture moves from older, round Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
forms above, to (slightly) pointed Gothic arches below, with the higher levels largely in darkness, and the floor level well-lit. The gloom of the Old Covenant
Old Covenant
The Old Covenant was the name of the agreement which effected the union of Iceland and Norway. It is also known as Gissurarsáttmáli, named after Gissur Þorvaldsson, the Icelandic chieftain who worked to promote it. The name "Old Covenant", however, is probably due to historical confusion...
is about to be succeeded by the light of the New Covenant
New Covenant
The New Covenant is a concept originally derived from the Hebrew Bible. The term "New Covenant" is used in the Bible to refer to an epochal relationship of restoration and peace following a period of trial and judgment...
. The flat timber roof is in poor repair, with planks out of place. The use of Romanesque architecture to identify Jewish rather than Christian settings is a regular feature of the paintings of van Eyck and his followers, and other paintings show both styles in the same building in a symbolic way.
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, but the subjects shown are those believed in the Middle Ages to prefigure the coming of Christ the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
. In the floor tiles David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
's slaying of Goliath (centre front), foretells Christ's triumph over the devil. Behind this, Samson
Samson
Samson, Shimshon ; Shamshoun or Sampson is the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh ....
pulls down the Temple of the Philistines, prefiguring both the Crucifixion and the Last Judgement, according to medieval authorities. To the left, Delilah
Delilah
Delilah appears only in the Hebrew bible Book of Judges 16, where she is the "woman in the valley of Sorek" whom Samson loved, and who was his downfall...
is cutting Samson's hair (Betrayal of Christ), and behind he slays the Philistines (Christ's triumph over sin). The death of Absalom
Absalom
According to the Bible, Absalom or Avshalom was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maachah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. describes him as the most handsome man in the kingdom...
and possibly that of Abimelech
Abimelech
Abimelech was a common name of the Philistine kings.Abimelech was most prominently the name of a king of Gerar who is mentioned in two of the three wife-sister narratives in Genesis...
are identified by some art historians, although only tiny sections are visible. Erwin Panofsky
Erwin Panofsky
Erwin Panofsky was a German art historian, whose academic career was pursued mostly in the U.S. after the rise of the Nazi regime. Panofsky's work remains highly influential in the modern academic study of iconography...
, who first developed much of this analysis, proposed a scheme for the significance of the astrological symbols in the round border tiles, and other versions have been suggested.
The rear wall has a single stained glass window, where Jehovah stands, above triple plain-glazed windows below, which perhaps suggest the Christian trinity. On either side of the single window are dim wall-paintings of the finding of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
by Pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
's daughter (left, pre-figuring the Annunciation itself), and Moses receiving the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
(right, paralleling the New Covenant
New Covenant
The New Covenant is a concept originally derived from the Hebrew Bible. The term "New Covenant" is used in the Bible to refer to an epochal relationship of restoration and peace following a period of trial and judgment...
Christ would bring). Below them are roundels with Isaac
Isaac
Isaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
and Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, for which various symbolic functions have been proposed. The lilies are a traditional attribute of Mary, standing for purity. The empty stool may be an "empty throne
Hetoimasia
The Hetoimasia, Etimasia , prepared throne, Preparation of the Throne, ready throne or Throne of the Second Coming is the Christian version of the symbolic subject of the empty throne found in the art of the ancient world, whose meaning has changed over the centuries...
", a symbol for Christ going back to early Byzantine art
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
.
The figures
Infanta Isabel, Duchess of Burgundy
Isabella of Portugal was a Portuguese infanta of the House of Aviz, the only surviving daughter of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster. Her most notable siblings were Henry the Navigator, Peter, Duke of Coimbra, and King Edward of Portugal...
, wife of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
, who may well have commissioned the painting from van Eyck, his (part-time) court painter. Mary wears a robe in her usual blue, which is trimmed in ermine
Ermine
Ermine has several uses:* A common name for the stoat * The white fur and black tail end of this animal, which is historically worn by and associated with royalty and high officials...
, reserved for royalty, which would suit this theory, although the Middle Ages placed great emphasis on Mary's royal descent
Davidic line
The Davidic line refers to the tracing of lineage to the King David referred to in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the New Testament...
in any case. As is usual, especially in the North, Mary's features are less attractive than those of Gabriel; being a sexless angel there was considered to be no possibility of his beauty causing inappropriate thoughts in the onlooker. Neither figure has a halo
Halo (religious iconography)
A halo is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art. They have been used in the iconography of many religions to indicate holy or sacred figures, and have at various periods also been used in images of rulers or heroes...
; these were being dispensed with in Early Netherlandish art in the interests of realism - eventually the Italians would follow. Mary's posture is ambiguous; it is not clear if she is standing, kneeling or sitting.
Size
Many writers, including Hand, call the figures over-large compared to the architecture. This is certainly a feature of some of van Eyck's depictions of Mary in a Church setting, with a particular theological meaning. In the painting in the Gemäldegalerie, BerlinGemäldegalerie, Berlin
The Gemäldegalerie is an art museum in Berlin, Germany. It holds one of the world's leading collections of European art from the 13th to the 18th centuries. It is located on Kulturforum west of Potsdamer Platz. Its collection includes masterpieces from such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas...
where this theme is most developed it can be shown that the figure of Mary is some sixty feet high, filling much of the height of a tall Gothic church. It is not so clear that any effect of this type is intended here; there are no architectural fittings to give a clear scale to the building. If for example the setting were a first floor room, or one giving on to a courtyard, the windows might be lower than is normal in a medieval church. The size of the plain glass roundels does not seem disproportionate with the figures.
Sacramental themes
Cope
The cope is a liturgical vestment, a very long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour....
over a dalmatic
Dalmatic
The dalmatic is a long wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and United Methodist Churches, which is sometimes worn by a deacon at the Mass or other services. Although infrequent, it may also be worn by bishops above the alb and below...
worn by Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
. This would, in a human, mark him as a celebrant or attendant at a High Mass
High Mass
High Mass may mean:*Solemn Mass, a Tridentine Mass celebrated with deacon and subdeacon *Missa Cantata, a sung Tridentine Mass without deacon and subdeacon...
. Mary is facing a table with a book about the right size to be a Gospel Book
Gospel Book
The Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament...
or Missal
Missal
A missal is a liturgical book containing all instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the year.-History:Before the compilation of such books, several books were used when celebrating Mass...
upon it, and has her hands raised in a gesture known as the expansis manibus. This is certainly to convey the alarm and uncertainty with which she usually greets the surprising apparition of Gabriel and his news, but is also a gesture used by a priest at certain points of a Mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
. The painting has been connected with the Golden Mass ("Missa Aurea"), a liturgical drama
Liturgical drama
Liturgical drama or religious drama, in its various Christian contexts, originates from the mass itself, and usually presents a relatively complex ritual that includes theatrical elements...
, or dramatised Mass, popular in the Netherlands at the time, which included a staging of the Annunciation as the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
reading. More generally, this is part of a common theme in Early Netherlandish art, where Mary, as intermediary between the faithful and God, is compared to, or seen as, a priest celebrating Mass. Her personal sacrifice of her son is compared to the ritual sacrifice enacted by the priest in the Mass. In a surviving extreme example in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
she is shown clearly wearing vestments and celebrating mass at an altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
; more often, as here, the comparison is made more subtly.
The rest of the tryptych
No more has been heard of the rest of the tryptych since the mentions below in the Provenance. It would presumably have been an altarpiece, for a side-altar or small chapel. The subjects of the other missing panels remain uncertain; a NativityNativity of Jesus
The Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
or Adoration of the Magi are considered most likely for the central panel, at least twice as wide as this one, with a Visitation of Mary or Presentation of Jesus on the right-hand wing matching this one. The outer sides of the wings would probably have been painted in some fashion, but if there was a full scene, or even a figure in grisaille
Grisaille
Grisaille is a term for painting executed entirely in monochrome or near-monochrome, usually in shades of grey. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many grisailles in fact include a slightly wider colour range, like the Andrea del Sarto fresco...
on the back of this, it is unlikely it would have been discarded when the painting was transferred to canvas in the 19th century. No doubt the themes of this wing would originally have related to those in the other wings in ways we cannot now guess.
Painting technique
Arnolfini portrait
The Arnolfini Portrait is an oil painting on oak panel dated 1434 by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It is also known as The Arnolfini Wedding, The Arnolfini Marriage, The Arnolfini Double Portrait or the Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife, among other titles...
. His underdrawing
Underdrawing
Underdrawing is the drawing done on a painting ground before paint is applied, for example, an imprimatura or an underpainting. Underdrawing was used extensively by 15th century painters like Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden. These artists "underdrew" with a brush, using hatching strokes for...
has been revealed, and so have many changes made in the course of painting the work.
Van Eyck's superb oil painting technique is evident throughout. Gold leaf
Gold leaf
right|thumb|250px|[[Burnishing]] gold leaf with an [[agate]] stone tool, during the water gilding processGold leaf is gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades...
is only used for the seven rays coming in from the left; paint is used for all the gold on Gabriel, often worked wet-on-wet
Wet-on-wet
Wet-on-wet is a painting technique in which layers of wet paint are applied to previous layers of wet paint. This technique requires a fast way of working, because the art work has to be finished before the first layers have dried....
to achieve the textural effects of his brocade
Brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli," comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth," originally past participle of the verb broccare...
d clothes. In a shadowy area behind the stool van Eyck worked a glaze with his fingers. The play of light over the many different textures in the painting is brilliantly rendered, and the illusionistic detail, especially in Gabriel's rich costume, is exceptional.
Apart from several small changes in the position of hands and faces, the under-drawing shows that the small pilasters on the left wall were originally planned to be repeated on the rear wall, and to be much taller, reaching nearly to the roof, on both. The paint on the rear wall is thicker than on the left wall, so he may have painted the pilasters before changing his mind. In the underdrawing the ceiling planks are all in place, and there was also a light source to the right, for which the shadows are drawn.
The narrative scenes on the tiles replace a simpler decorative plan in the underdrawing, and the stool has become much larger. The vase of lilies was not only absent in the underdrawing, but was not reserved, that is to say that a space was not left for it in the paint for the Virgin's robe or the floor. This suggests it was only added late in the course of painting.
Examination of other major van Eyck works reveals similar developments from the underdrawing, and in the course of painting, in these works. It seems van Eyck, perhaps acting with clerical advisers, although he appears to have been a considerable reader himself, liked to add further complexity to his compositions in the course of work on them.
Condition and date
The painting was transferred from panel to canvas in the 19th century. It received a major cleaning in 1998, when varnish and some overpaint was removed, and a technical study undertaken. Writing before this, the NGA catalogue described the painting as extensively restored. Craquelure (crazed cracking to the surface) had been painted over, especially in the background. Repainted areas included parts of Gabriel's face and hair, and the Virgin's robe, which appeared to have also lost a layer of glaze.The range of dates given for the painting, was previously from 1428-29 (Panofsky and others) to 1436-37, but the discovery in 1959 of a date of 1437 on an altarpiece in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister
The Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden features major works of art. It is located in the gallery wing of the Zwinger....
, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
has considerably changed all van Eyck dating, and "makes it all but impossible to continue dating the Annunciation before 1432" (Hand). The painting appears stylistically to come between the Ghent Altarpiece
Ghent Altarpiece
The Ghent Altarpiece or Adoration of the Mystic Lamb is a very large and complex Early Netherlandish polyptych panel painting which is considered to be one of Belgium's masterpieces and one of the world's treasures.It was once in the Joost Vijdt chapel at Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium, but...
and late works such as the Berlin Virgin in a church.
Two authorities have considered the painting to belong to Jan's brother Hubert van Eyck
Hubert van Eyck
Hubert van Eyck was a Flemish painter and older brother of Jan van Eyck. He was probably born in Maaseik, Flanders, now in Belgium....
, who died in 1426. It is thought that the recent cleaning or technical investigation has tended to confirm the majority view that it is an autograph work by Jan.
Provenance
The provenanceProvenance
Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", refers to the chronology of the ownership or location of an historical object. The term was originally mostly used for works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing...
of the painting, as far as it is known, is:
- 1791 - A visitor to the Chartreuse de Champmol, a CarthusianCarthusianThe Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
monastery in DijonDijonDijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
, now in France, but in the 15th century the capital of the Duchy of BurgundyDuchy of BurgundyThe Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
, recorded seeing in the PriorPriorPrior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
's room paintings, originally in the ducal chapel of the monastery: "... paintings on wood of the type of the earliest Flemish painters, which come from the chapels of the Dukes; they are about four feet high. The first, about a foot wide, is an Annunciation..." The monastery was very largely destroyed in the French Revolution, but had been the burial place of the Dukes of Burgundy, and contained many important works. The painting mentioned is thought likely to be the Washington painting, although the measurements (in the French pied, or foot, of the period) do not match very exactly. - 1817 - Bought at an auction sale in Paris by the major dealer C.J. Nieuwenhuys of Brussels, who sold it to William II, King of the Netherlands. In Brussels until 1841, then in The Hague. In a book of 1843 Nieuwenhuys says of the picture that it was "from a set with two others by the same master, painted for Philip the Good and destined to adorn a religious foundation in Dijon". A modern scholar has also claimed that the Virgin has the features of Philip's Duchess Isabella of PortugalIsabella of PortugalIsabella of Portugal was a Portuguese Princess and Holy Roman Empress, Duchess of Burgundy, and a Queen Regent/Consort of Spain. She was the daughter of Manuel I of Portugal and Maria of Aragon. By her marriage to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Isabella was also Holy Roman Empress and Queen...
. - 1850 - Lot 1 in an auction in The Hague, bought by Czar Nicholas I of RussiaNicholas I of RussiaNicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
for the Hermitage MuseumHermitage MuseumThe State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
in Saint PetersburgSaint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. Probably between 1864 and 1870 the Hermitage transferred it to canvas, as is often done with panel paintingPanel paintingA panel painting is a painting made on a flat panel made of wood, either a single piece, or a number of pieces joined together. Until canvas became the more popular support medium in the 16th century, it was the normal form of support for a painting not on a wall or vellum, which was used for...
s when the wood develops problems. - 1929 - Franz Matthiesen, a young German art dealer, was asked by the Soviet Government to compile a list of the hundred paintings in Russian collections, which should never be sold under any circumstances. He was most surprised to be shown several of these paintings not long after in Paris by Calouste GulbenkianCalouste GulbenkianCalouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was an Armenian businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development...
, who had traded them with the Russians for oil. Gulbenkian wanted him to act as his agent on further purchases, but Matthiesen instead formed a consortiumSoviet sale of Hermitage paintingsThe Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings in 1930 and 1931 resulted in the departure of some of the most valuable paintings from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad to western museums. Several of the paintings had been in the Hermitage Collection since its creation by Empress...
with Colnaghi's of London and Knoedler & Co of New York, which in 1930 and 1931 bought twenty-one paintings from the Russians, all of which were bought by Andrew Mellon, who had been offered first refusal. All are now in the National Gallery of ArtNational Gallery of ArtThe National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
in Washington, where they form some of the most important paintings in the collection (two works by Raphael, also including works by Botticelli, Titian, Veronese, Velázquez, Rembrandt). - 1930 - Bought by Andrew Mellon via the consortium described above. In 1931 it was deeded to a trust, which later gave it to the National Gallery of Art, which was still unbuilt.