As I was writing the previous chapter, I discovered that the drawing was of a painting by #JanVanEyck. Van Eyck is considered the creator, or almost so, of oil painting. There are about 20 paintings that exist today of his. Although he did paint a number of portraits, most of his paintings are depictions of the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child on her lap in church interiors or chapels as well as a possible worshipper (patron) with them.

Throughout Van Eyck’s religious paintings, one sees the juxtaposition of the spiritual world with the secular. In the drawing and painting, the carvings on the columns above Rolin’s head are scenes from the bible while the church situated above his folded hands may be a symbol of his great financial support for his local church.

I find it interesting that there are a number of missing or changed items in the drawing from the painting. The four main alterations are 1. there is no castle in the middle of the river in the central arch, 2. the is only one child on the patio, 3. the peacocks become smaller in size, and the one on the wall goes from male to female,] 4. the angel with the crown does not appear at all in the drawing. There are a few other small differences, and this tells me that if this drawing was created to copy the painting, then those differences would not be there.

Van Eyck was a master at creating depth and giving his paintings a 3 dimensional feeling. He was also a master at producing an almost photographic effect in his backgrounds, which are filled with immense detail.

I sit wondering why create such a detailed drawing with obvious errors and omissions. It is a question I can not answer, but it is fun considering the reasons.