Madonna in the church
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| Madonna in the church |
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| Jan van Eyck , around 1440 |
| Oil on oak |
| 31 × 14 cm |
| Gemäldegalerie , Berlin |
Madonna in the Church (or The Holy Virgin in the Church) is a small oil painting by the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck . Presumably it was made around 1440. The picture, which is only 31 × 14 cm, shows the Virgin Mary holding the baby Jesus in her arms. The architectural ambience is the interior of a Gothic cathedral . The picture has been in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin since 1874.
Image description
Mary is depicted as the Queen of Heaven, wearing a jeweled crown and holding a playful Baby Jesus in her arms. She looks at her face and reaches for the hem of her red dress, similar to the Byzantine type of Eleusa . It stands in a Gothic cathedral and is disproportionately large compared to it.
In the background a crucifix-crowned rood screen divides the nave from the choir . In the passage of the rood screen there are two psalm-modifying angels. The arch to the left is designed as a niche in which a sculpture of Our Lady with the child stands between two burning candles; the posture resembles that of the "living" foreground figure. Reliefs of the Annunciation to Mary and the engagement of Mary and Joseph can be seen in the eyelashes .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Rainald Grosshans: The Madonna in the Church. In: SMB Digital. Retrieved July 15, 2020 .