Madonna at the Fountain
The Madonna at the Fountain is a painting by the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck. With an interior size of 19 x 12 inches, this is painting is still in the original frame located, only a little larger than a postcard.
History
The painting was created in 1439 and is one of the late works of Jan van Eyck. It is now in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Antwerp. What is unusual about this painting is that Jan van Eyck representing the Madonna in a blue Heuke here: When Dresdner Marie altar, the Lucca Madonna, the Rolin Madonna and the Madonna of the Canon Joris van der Paele carry the Madonna red Heuken. The use of the color red for the clothing of Madonna or God father figures is a characteristic of Dutch painting of the 15th century. In the Netherlands, it was estimated at that time especially scarlet robes that were dyed with the most expensive textile dye carmine. This dye was completely obtained from the eggs of Schildlausarten Kermes Kermes ilicis and vermilio. According to the fashion taste of his Dutch contemporaries used Jan van Eyck, with several depictions of the Madonna as the lower vermilion color layer and then painted over this photosensitive material with transparent rose madder.
Italian painters used the other hand for the presentation of the Madonna paintings preferred the precious ultramarine, whose best qualities were worth more than their weight in gold and was regarded as an appropriate choice because of its high material value. The fact that Jan van Eyck here chose blue, can be seen as an influence of Italian painting be considered; Jan van Eyck was a chamberlain to the court of the Duke of Burgundy, was one of his close associates and was at least three times sent by him on diplomatic missions abroad. While the destination of two of travel is known, the destination of the first voyage is unknown. Art historians now generally believed that this trip Jan van Eyck led to Italy. Proof of this are a number of stylistic influences of Italian painting in the work of Jan van Eyck such as the perspective view in the Lucca Madonna. Jan van Eyck also one of the first painters north of the Alps, the signed and dated their work. The signature can be found here on the surviving original frames.
Similar to the Lucca Madonna is also missing from this painting, the founder figure. Madonna is represented standing here. Two angels hold a cloth of honor behind her highly. Left and right of a rose hedge is gratitude. Otherwise, this painting has only a few details; the appearance of objects of daily life, how to find it in the Lucca Madonna is missing. It also lacks the perspective illustration that conveys a depth of space.