Comments on: Delivering a Message

By: Aleid

Aleid — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:03:52 +0000

You’re certainly right about similarities between the hands. While I’m not sure about any explicit meaning in this case, there are definite links in the look of the hands. You see, Botticelli had a graceful and ornamental linear style that harked back to the Gothic period and artists like van Eyck. Botticelli would also on occasion ignore elements of anatomical realism, in the service of a pretty picture. So it’s spot-on to point out the links between both sets of elongated, elegant fingers.

By: rutger

rutger — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:09:13 +0000

Flower Power
Aleid, you did it again, what a great video ! Lovely flowery dress as well !! Spring is in the air and winter has beaten a retreat, finally. Your blog is a daily highlight and an XL-highlight on Fridays. You make each work of art very accessible and contemporary too. The blog is an oasis of reflection and I learn about Georgia O’Keeffe as well. Many thanks and only nine months and a few days to go.
Absolutely wonderful.

By: Aleid

Aleid — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:58:36 +0000

It’s certainly possible that van Eyck picked up features from churches he knew in and around Bruges (he died there in 1441, a few years after this picture was painted). Here, the round-arched windows of the upper story are typical of the Romanesque period (c. 800s – 1100s) while the (slightly) pointed arches of the lower zone are Gothic in style (c. 1100s – 1500s). The dual architectural styles serve a symbolic function here: the Romanesque features suggest a Jewish setting, which gives way to a Christian (Gothic) one. It’s van Eyck’s way of getting the setting to do the talking, telling us about the passage from Old to New.

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:47:09 +0000

I was wondering about her hand gestures. Her left hand is almost, but not quite, in the same gesture as Botticelli’s “Portrait of a Youth” which you wrote about earlier. There is a similarity in the fingers, or am I wrong? Perhaps there isn’t a connection, but I have a feeling that there is.

By: Maz

Maz — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:30:46 +0000

I love depictions of the Annunciation in art: it’s such a common theme that one can really look at the sensibilities, customs and notions of wealth in the artist’s working environment, as well as the evolution of art and technique itself. I always find the very diverse ways the wings are represented entertaining – i wonder whether the coloring of the wings along the color spectrum from red to blue is significant in this case?

By: Bernie Schneider

Bernie Schneider — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:27:46 +0000

Aleid, do you know where the church included in the painting is located? It looks very much like a very old church located in Bruges although I suspect that there are many others which have the same features and windows.