Madonna at the Fountain

Madonna at the Fountain (1439), oil on panel, 19 x 12 cm (7.5 x 4.75 in). Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp.

The Madonna at the Fountain^[1] is a 1439 oil on panel painting by the early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It belongs to van Eyck's late work.

At 19 x 12 cm. the painting is only a little larger than a postcard. It is set in a hortus conclusus, with the fountain representing the fountain of life.^[2] The Madonna is depicted dressed in blue, her figure framed by a richly embroidered cloth of honor supported by two angels. The Christ Child holds prayer beads in his left hand, suggesting, along with the rose bush behind the figures, the rosary.^[2] In the mid to late 15th century the rosary was becoming increasingly popular in northern Europe.^[2]

This depiction is unusual in that the Madonna wears a blue robe; in the Dresden Marienaltar, the Lucca Madonna, and the Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, van Eyck had depicted her dressed in red. The use of red for the clothes of sacred figures was characteristic of 15th century Netherlandish painting, as cochineal was among the most expensive pigments available for dying textiles. In contrast to this, Italian painters used ultramarine for the robes of Madonnas.^[3] Thus van Eyck's choice of blue can be seen as evidence of Italian influence.

It is signed and dated on the original frame, which it still retains: ALS IXH CAN", "JOHES DE EYCK ME FECIT + [COM]PLEVIT ANNO 1439

Citations

References

• Margarete Bruns (1997). Das Rätsel Farbe – Materie und Mythos. Philipp Reclam jun. GmbH. ISBN 3-15-010430-0
• Craig Harbison (1995). Jan van Eyck: the play of realism. Reaktion Books. ISBN 0-948462-79-5
• Otto Pächt (1989). Van Eyck – die Begründer der altniederländischen Malerei. Prestel Verlag. ISBN 3-7913-1033-X
• James Snyder (2005). Northern Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, the Graphic Arts from 1350 to 1575. 2nd ed. Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-150547-5
• János Végh (1984). Jan van Eyck. Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft.

External links

• Madonna at the Fountain on the website of the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten

v t e Jan van Eyck The Stygmata of St. Francis (c. 1428-1430) · Portrait of a Goldsmith (c. 1428-1430) · Ghent Altarpiece (with Hubert van Eyck) (1432) · Léal Souvenir (1432) · Portrait of Cardinal Niccolò Albergati (1432) · Portrait of a Man (Self Portrait?) (1433) · Annunciation (c. 1434-1436) · Arnolfini Portrait (1434) · Portrait of Baudouin de Lannoy (c 1435) · Madonna of Chancellor Rolin (1435) · Portrait of Baudouin de Lannoy (c. 1435) · Portrait of a Man with Carnation (1435) · Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini (1435) · Lucca Madonna (1436) · Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele (1436) · Portrait of Jan de Leeuw (1436) · Saint Barbara (1436) · Madonna in the Church (1438) · Portrait of Margaret van Eyck (1439) · Madonna at the Fountain (1439) · Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych (c 1440) · Annunciation (c 1440) · Portrait of Christ (1440) · Saint Jerome in His Study (1442)