Excerpt from Term Paper:

...... We may suggest from that which we know about Van Eyck himself-which
is decidedly a limited amount-that this sadness and hue are inspired by the
same biographical fact which has inspired that recurrent appearance of the
Madonna herself. To this end, "by 'copying' significant elements of that
trecento fresco and several of its quattrocento transformations by artists
like Lorenzo Monaco and Gentile de Fabriano, Jan hoped to retain the
apotropaic values of the Florentine cult image in his . . . paintings
intended to aid childless couples, specifically, the Vydts and the Duke and
Duchess of Burgundy." (Jolly, 369) As a painter with prominent endorsement
by the noted Duke-who would indeed be his patron and his strongest
supporter in the court-Van Eyck's sympathy for the man without offspring is
perhaps strongly suggested here
This discussion is encouraged in its identification of this motive by
the stark naturalism in the portrait, which addresses line, form and color
with a mind toward honestly depicted the real world. Notably, the
painter's singular skill with oil and his mastering of theretofore untapped
techniques would mark a moment of artistic transition. Indeed, "Van Eyck
exploited the qualities of oil as never before, building up

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