Madonna In The Church 1439, By Jan Van Eyck

Today, billions of peoples thoughts are spread world wide on a daily basis, but back in the sixteenth century during the Northern Renaissance the concept of sharing information in a spread out manner was new, but very much present in their society thanks to a new invention. In fact, this era was full of breakthroughs, and these breakthroughs caused a shift in the life of individuals in the Northern Renaissance to such an extent that created a frenzy of sorts. The strange, unfamiliar concepts that were conceived during the Northern Renaissance era changed the ideals of their time drastically, and therefore newly formed ideals of religion, power, and intellect replaced those of old. For instance, Madonna in the Church 1439, by Jan Van Eyck incorporates
The printing press was a way to print off written information in mass quantities, so authors could ensure the masses would read their message (473 Fiero). Martin Luther made major headway by having his Ninety-five theses printed with the printing press, which caused a ruckus within society, because this book made individuals see how bad the church of Rome had gotten, for Luther wrote of the indulgences that the church partook in (475 Fiero). In
1) demonstrates these aspects and is the perfect art model for this time. Madonna in the Church is an oil painting on wood (Eyck). Interestingly, oil paint was new to the scene, and Eyck was one of the first ones to use it, and the usage of oil paint in the Madonna in the Church made it a vibrant and outspoken piece (“Oil Painting”). Further, this painting utilizes contrasting colors of light and dark to establish that it is daytime, to embellish the scene of the painting, which is of a mother embracing her child within the confines of a church as she wistfully looks of to the side as onlookers glare her down from afar. Additionally, this painting is symmetrical, as the mother and child take up the center portion of the painting, while there are intricate windows and entryways off to either side of them. Also, there are angular and horizontal lines spread throughout the piece. To conclude, this is a painting of artistic excellence, for it utilizes complementing artistic elements that ensure this piece a second look by