The Annunciation Analysis

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This paper will describe the paintings of “The Annunciation” from painters Jan Van Eyck and Robert Campin. Even though the paintings are describing the same things I feel that there is more separating rather than bringing them together. Robert Campin was a Flemish Painter that was based in Tournai who made paintings for both middle and high-class civilians. Jan Van Eyck was also a Flemish Painter that was based in Burges who mostly worked very wealthy patrons. Jan Van Eyck’s “Annunciation” was painted on the exterior of the Ghent Altarpiece that was created in 1432 at the cathedral of Saint Bavo. Robert Campin’s painting of “The Annunciation” was made on the Merode Altarpiece in about 1425. Robert Campin was a Netherland painter that lived …show more content…
Jan Van Eyck mostly worked for partrons that were high-class citizens including the Duke of Burges. Jan Van Eyck was famous for his realism that he brought to his paintings as well as his skills in pictoral illusionism. He mostly worked on fictional scenes and uses objects within his pieces to deceive the eye with pure detail. An example of this is from the painting “The Arnolfini Portrait” that has a mirror in the background that has wonderous detail of a reflection and has been theorized that it shows the figure of Jan Van Eyck …show more content…
The items in the room are all painted with extreme detail from the items in the back to the folds of the clothing on the two figures on the front. The whole room is filled with these detailed items like the candles in the front of the painting and the window and pot that are more in the back. The figures that are to the front are Mary (who is on the left) and the archangel Gabriel and this is the scene where Gabriel tells Mary that she will be blessed with God’s son. The figures are both big and bulky; the detail to the folds in their clothing is very geometrical which makes the painting lose some of its realism. On the top right side of the painting you can see the baby Jesus zooming through the window to the womb of Mary, Campin did this because he wanted to capture the exact moment when the holy trio was unified. The association between Gabriel and Mary is different from other paintings for Gabriel is shown gesturing towards Mary, but it looks as though Mary is not aware of his

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