The Marian Paintings of Jan Van Eyck

This study confronts a curious situation in the History of Art. Jan van Eyck has been long recognized as a great master, and perhaps the key figure in Northern panel painting of the fifteenth century. Of the approximately thirty recognized works that have come down to us from his hand, roughly half are portraits. Of the fifteen or so non-portrait panels finished by Jan, eight have as a major focus the Virgin Mother of God. Though the specific details surrounding the commissioning of these works are largely unknown (and likely to remain so), it does seem curious that these Marian works have never been studied as a body to see if they reveal a distinctive attitude toward the Virgin that could be called characteristic of Jan van Eyck. This study confronts a curious situation in the History of Art. Jan van Eyck has been long recognized as a great master, and perhaps the key figure in Northern panel painting of the fifteenth century. Of the approximately thirty recognized works that have come down to us from his hand, roughly half are portraits. Of the fifteen or so non-portrait panels finished by Jan, eight have as a major focus the Virgin Mother of God. Though the specific details surrounding the commissioning of these works are largely unknown (and likely to remain so), it does seem curious that these Marian works have never been studied as a body to see if they reveal a distinctive attitude toward the Virgin that could be called characteristic of Jan van Eyck.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Restricted Access Dissertation

Year

1976

Author dc:creator

• Purtle, Carol Jean

• History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology

Language dc:language

English (en)

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7936/K7CZ35K4

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:openscholarship.wustl.edu:etd_restrict-1024