Malawi Philately: 1977 Christmas – 40t The Madonna of the Fountain (Jan Van Eyck)

The Madonna at the Fountain is a 1439 oil on panel painting by the early Netherlandish artist Jan van Eyck.

This depiction is unusual in that the Madonna wears a blue robe; in the Dresden Triptych, Lucca Madonna, and the Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, van Eyck had depicted her dressed in red. The use of red for the clothes of sacred figures was characteristic of 15th century Netherlandish painting, as cochineal was among the most expensive pigments available for dying textiles. In contrast to this, Italian painters used ultramarine for the robes of Madonnas. Thus van Eyck’s choice of blue can be seen as evidence of Italian influence.