The Annunciation

c. 1434/1436

Jan van Eyck

Artist, Netherlandish, c. 1390 - 1441

A woman and winged angel, both with pale, peach skin, are situated in a church interior in this tall, narrow painting. To our left, the angel has long, blond, curly hair, smooth skin, and is smiling. The wings are outlined in royal blue, and they blend from blue to green to yellow to crimson. The angel holds one hand, closer to us, up at chest height with the index finger subtly pointing upward. Holding a long scepter in the other hand, the angel angles their body toward the woman to our right. The angel wears a gold jewel and pearl-encrusted crown and a jeweled long, voluminous robe in scarlet-red and shimmering gold brocade. The neck and along the opening down the front are lined with pearls and jewels. The angel looks toward the woman, who wears a royal-blue dress tied with a red belt at the high waist. Her long brown hair is tied back but one tendril falls over her left shoulder, to our right. She kneels facing us with her raised hands facing outward. Her head is tipped a bit to our left, and she looks up and into the distance to our right with lips slightly parted. She kneels behind a book lying open on a low table. A vase of white lilies and a red cushion lies on the floor in front of the table, close to us. The floor is decorated with people and scenes outlined in black and set into square panels, as if inlaid with wood. The church behind and above the people has a row of tall, narrow arches with bull’s-eye glass windows. A walkway lined with columns runs above the arches, and sunlight comes in through arched windows under the flat wood ceiling. A white dove flies toward the woman on gold lines from a window at the upper left of the painting. Latin words painted in gold capital letters are exchanged between the people. The angel says, “AVE GRA PLENA.” The letters of the woman’s response are painted upside down and backward: “ECCE ANCILLA DNI.”

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A play and a painting appear to have merged in Jan van Eyck’s dramatic Annunciation, which is rich with Christian symbolism. The rainbow-winged archangel Gabriel tells the Virgin Mary that God has chosen her to bear his son. This message is revealed in gold letters near the angel’s mouth. Mary throws up her hands in surprise but accepts her fate. Her reply is noted in a golden phrase, written in reverse for God to see from above. This divine scene is set in a church, with every arch, window, and column finely rendered in detail.

The Annunciation (English)
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas transferred from panel

  • Credit Line

    Andrew W. Mellon Collection

  • Dimensions

    painted surface: 90.2 x 34.1 cm (35 1/2 x 13 7/16 in.)
    support: 92.7 x 36.7 cm (36 1/2 x 14 7/16 in.)
    framed: 97.31 × 42.23 × 6.99 cm (38 5/16 × 16 5/8 × 2 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1937.1.39

More About this Artwork

A woman and winged angel, both with pale, peach skin, are situated in a church interior in this tall, narrow painting. To our left, the angel has long, blond, curly hair, smooth skin, and is smiling. The wings are outlined in royal blue, and they blend from blue to green to yellow to crimson. The angel holds one hand, closer to us, up at chest height with the index finger subtly pointing upward. Holding a long scepter in the other hand, the angel angles their body toward the woman to our right. The angel wears a gold jewel and pearl-encrusted crown and a jeweled long, voluminous robe in scarlet-red and shimmering gold brocade. The neck and along the opening down the front are lined with pearls and jewels. The angel looks toward the woman, who wears a royal-blue dress tied with a red belt at the high waist. Her long brown hair is tied back but one tendril falls over her left shoulder, to our right. She kneels facing us with her raised hands facing outward. Her head is tipped a bit to our left, and she looks up and into the distance to our right with lips slightly parted. She kneels behind a book lying open on a low table. A vase of white lilies and a red cushion lies on the floor in front of the table, close to us. The floor is decorated with people and scenes outlined in black and set into square panels, as if inlaid with wood. The church behind and above the people has a row of tall, narrow arches with bull’s-eye glass windows. A walkway lined with columns runs above the arches, and sunlight comes in through arched windows under the flat wood ceiling. A white dove flies toward the woman on gold lines from a window at the upper left of the painting. Latin words painted in gold capital letters are exchanged between the people. The angel says, “AVE GRA PLENA.” The letters of the woman’s response are painted upside down and backward: “ECCE ANCILLA DNI.”

Interactive Article:  Stories and Symbols in Jan van Eyck’s "The Annunciation"

The work is a triumph of early Northern Renaissance painting—and storytelling.

Video:  Jan van Eyck's "The Annunciation" (ASL)

This video provides an ASL description of Jan van Eyck's painting, The Annunciation.

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly the Chartreuse de Champmol, near Dijon.[1] Sale, Paris, 1819. (Charles J. Nieuwenhuys, Brussels). William II, King of the Netherlands [d. 1849], in Brussels until 1841, thereafter The Hague;[2] (sale, The Hague, 12 August 1850, no. 1); bought by Bruni for Czar Nicholas I of Russia [1796-1855], Saint Petersburg; Imperial Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg;[3] purchased June 1930 through (Matthiesen Gallery, Berlin; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London; and M. Knoedler & Co., New York) by Andrew W. Mellon, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.; deeded 5 June 1931 to The A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA.
[1] C.J. Nieuwenhuys, Description de la Galerie des Tableaux de S.M. le Roi des Pays-Bas, (Brussels, 1843), 2, on the history of the painting says: "D'après les meilleurs renseignements qu'on a pu obtenir, ce tableau faisait suite à deux autres peintures du même maitre; il a été peint pour Philippe le Bon, duc de Bourgogne, et destiné à orner un monument réligieux à Dijon." S. Reinach, "Three Early Panels from the Ducal Residence at Dijon," Burlington Magazine 50 (1927), 239, published a fragmentary description written in 1791 of three paintings kept in the Prior's room, but originally in the ducal chapel of the Chartreuse de Champmol. This reads in part: "Dans la chambre du Prieur on conserve deux tableaux sur bois dans le genre des premiers peintres flamands, qui proviennent des chapelles [sic] des Ducs: ils ont environ 4 pieds de haut. Le premier, d'à peu près un pied de large, est un Annonciation..." Although the dimensions do not match those of the Gallery's painting, the general shape is similar and the tall, narrow format is rather unusual for a Netherlandish Annunciation. Nieuwenhuys' statement that the painting came from Dijon, coupled with the 1791 description, raises the possibility that 1937.1.39 is identical with the painting mentioned as being in the Chartreuse de Champmol. The manuscript is in the Bibliothèque Publique, Dijon, Ms. 88, fol. 53.
[2] Nieuwenhuys 1843 (as per n. 1 above), 2; in 1841 the works of art were transported from Brussels to a gallery built for them in The Hague.
[3] The Getty Provenance Index lists The J. Paul Getty Museum's copy of the auction catalogue as its source for the name of the agent Bruni (who is not listed in the provenance as it is published in the NGA Systematic Catalogue).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1907

  • Exposition de la toison d'or et de l'art néerlandais sous les Ducs de Bourgogne, Bruges, 1907, no. 175.

1994

  • Jan Van Eyck's 'Annunciation', National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1994, brochure, color repro.

1997

  • Masterpieces from Museums Around the World: Van Eyck 'Annunciation' from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D. C.), The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, 1997, no cat.

  • Van Eyck's 'Annunciation': The Meeting of Heaven and Earth, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1997, brochure, color repro. on cover and fig. 2 (detail).

1998

  • Recognizing Van Eyck, The National Gallery, London; Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1998, no. 3, repro.

2002

  • Jan van Eyck, de Vlaamse Primitieven en het Zuiden [Jan van Eyck, Early Netherlandish Painting and Southern Europe], Groeningemuseum, Bruges, 2002, no. 19, fig. 17, repro. (catalogue titled The Age of Van Eyck, 1430-1530: The Mediterranean World and Early Netherlandish Painting).

2012

  • The Road to Van Eyck, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 2012-2013.

2015

  • Dialog der Meisterwerke. English Masterworks in Dialogue: Eminent Guests for the Anniversary, Städel Museum, Frankfurt, 2015-2016.

2018

  • Truth and Beauty: the Pre-Raphaelites and the Old Masters, Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 2018.

2020

  • Jan van Eyck: An Optical Revolution, Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent, 2020, no. 1.3, repro.

Bibliography

1833

  • Passavant, J. D. "Nachrichten über die alt-niederländische Malerschule." Kunst-Blatt no. 83 (1833): 320.

1843

  • Nieuwenhuys, C. J. Description de la Galerie des Tableaux de S. M. le Roi des Pays-Bas. Brussels, 1843: 1-2.

1845

  • Michiels, Alfred. Histoire de la peinture flamande et hollandaise. 4 vols. Paris, 1847: 2:127.

1850

  • Catalogue des Tableaux Anciens et Modernes, de Diverses Écoles; Dessins et Statues, Formant la Galerie de feu sa Majesté Guillaume II. Amsterdam, 1850: 1, no. 1.

1858

  • Hotho, H. G. Die Malerschule Hubert's van Eyck nebst Vorgängern und Zeitgenossen. Berlin, 1858: 2, 171.

1863

  • Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage impérial, Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. Saint Petersburg, 1863: 95, no. 443.

1864

  • Waagen, Gustav Friedrich. Die Gemäldesammlung in der kaiserlichen Ermitage zu St. Petersburg nebst Bemerkungen über andere dortige Kunstsammlungen. Munich, 1864: 115-116, no. 443.

1866

  • Michiels, Alfred. Histoire de la peinture flamande depuis ses débuts jusqu'en 1864. 6 vols. Paris, 1866: 2:317-318.

1870

  • Köhne, Baron Bernhard de. Ermitage Impérial: Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 3 vols. 2nd ed. Saint Petersburg, 1870: 2:3-4, no. 443.

1872

  • Crowe, J. A., and G.B. Cavalcaselle. The Early Flemish Painters: Notices of Their Lives and Works. 2nd ed. London, 1872: 113-114.

1879

  • Ris, Comte Louis Clément de. "Musée Impérial de l'Ermitage à Saint-Pétersbourg (third of 4 articles)." _Gazette des Beaux-Arts_19 (June 1879): 573-574, repro. 577 (drawing by Goutzwiller).

1887

  • Conway, William. Early Flemish Artists and Their Predecessors of the Lower Rhine. London, 1887: 140-141.

1898

  • Kaemmerer, Ludwig. Hubert und Jan van Eyck. Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1898: 69-71, repro.

1899

  • Seeck, Otto. Die charakterischen Unterschiede der Brüder van Eyck. Berlin, 1899: 41, 70.

1900

  • Friedländer, Max J. Review of Die Werke des Jan van Eyck by Karl Voll. In Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft 23 (1900): 474.

  • Kaemmemer, Ludwig. "Die neueste Eycklitteratur." Kunstchronik 12 (8 November 1900): 67-68, 70.

  • Voll, Karl. Die Werke des Jan van Eyck. Strasbourg, 1900: 62-65.

1901

  • Voll, Karl. "Jan van Eyck en France." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 25 (1901): 217-218.

  • Somov, Andrei Ivanovich. Ermitage Impérial. Catalogue de la Galérie des Tableaux. 2 vols. 4th ed. Saint Petersburg, 1901: 2:110-111.

1903

  • Dvorák, Max. "Das Rätsel der Kunst der Brüder van Eyck." Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des allerhöchsten Kaiserhauses (Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien) 24 (1903): 237, repro. 236 (printed in book form, Munich, 1925: 119).

  • Weale, Frances. Hubert and Jan van Eyck. New York, 1903: 30.

1904

  • Kern, G. Joseph. Die Grundzüge der linear-perspektivischen Darstellung in der Kunst der Gebrüder van Eyck und ihrer Schule. Leipzig, 1904: 13-14, diagram pl. 7.

1906

  • Kleinclausz, Arthur Jean. "Les Peintres des Ducs de Bourgogne." Revue de l'art ancien et moderne 20 (1906): 258, repro. 259.

  • Voll, Karl. Die altniederländische Malerei von Jan van Eyck bis Memling. Leipzig, 1906: 36.

  • Wurzbach, Alfred von. Niederlandisches Kunstler-Lexikon. 3 vols. Vienna, 1906-1911: 1(1906):514.

1907

  • "Correspondance de Belgique. L'exposition de la toison d'or à Bruges." La Chronique des Arts et de la Curiosité no. 26 (1907): 252.

  • Les Chefs-d'oeuvre de l'art flamand à l'exposition de la toison d'or. Bruges, 1907: 16-17, repro.

  • Girodie, André. "La Toison d'or et l'art néerlandais sous les ducs de Bourgogne." L'Art de les Artistes 5 (September, 1907): 289-290, repro.

  • Hymans, Henri. "L'Exposition de la toison d'or à Bruges." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 38 (1907): 203-204, repro. opp. 204.

  • Hymans, Henri. Les Van Eyck. Paris, 1907: 111-112, repro. 109.

  • Mandach, C. de "L'Exposition de la toison d'or et de l'art néerlandais sous les ducs de Bourgogne." Revue de l'art ancien et moderne 22 (1907): 155.

  • Strange, Edward. "The Exhibition of the Golden Fleece at Bruges." The Connoisseur 19, no. 73 (1907): 32, repro.

  • Friedländer, Max J. "Eyck, Jan van." In Thieme-Becker. 37 vols. Leipzig, 1907-1950: 11(1915):129-133.

1908

  • Les Chefs-d'oeuvre d'art ancien à l'exposition de la toison d'or à Bruges en 1907. Brussels, 1908: 78, pl. 361.

  • Saintenoy, Paul. L'Église Saint-Jacques de Compostelle et le décor architectural de l'Annonciation de Jean van Eyck. Antwerp, 1908: 4-5, 8-10.

  • Weale, W. H. James. Hubert and John van Eyck. Their Life and Work. London, 1908: 119-122, no. 16, repro. betw. 118 and 119.

1909

  • Wrangell, Baron Nicolas. Les Chefs-d’Oeuvre de la Galérie de Tableaux de l’Ermitage Impérial à St. Pétersbourg. London, 1909: 11, repro. 62.

1910

  • "Extraits des procès-verbaux des séances. Séance de rentrée du 13 novembre 1907." Mémoires de l'Académie des sciences, arts et belle-lettres de Dijon 4e sér. 11 (1910): 70.

  • Durand-Gréville, E. Hubert et Jean van Eyck. Brussels, 1910: 80-85, repro. opp. 80.

1912

  • Kern, G. Joseph. "Perspective und Bildarchitektur bei Jan van Eyck." Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft 35 (1912): 50-51.

  • Réau, Louis. "La galerie de tableaux de l'Ermitage et la collection Semenov. 2: Ecoles de Nord." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 8 (December 1912): 471-472.

  • Weale, W. H. James, and Maurice Brockwell. The Van Eycks and Their Art. London, 1912: 98-102, pl. 19.

1913

  • Durand-Gréville, E. Review of The Van Eycks and their Art by W. H. James Weale and Maurice Brockwell. In La Chronique des Arts et de la Curiosité no. 32 (1913): 254.

1919

  • Huizinga, Johan. Herfsttij der Middeleeuwen. Haarlem, 1919: 474-476.

1921

  • Brockwell, Maurice. "Exposition des Beaux-Arts de Burlington Club." La Chronique des Arts et de la Curiosité no. 2 (1921): 14.

  • Conway, Martin. The Van Eycks and Their Followers. London, 1921: 64-65.

1922

  • Pfister, Kurt. Van Eyck. Munich, 1922: 62, pl. 14.

1924

  • Schmarsow, August. Hubert und Jan van Eyck. Leipzig, 1924: 135-141, pl. 29.

  • Winkler, Friedrich. Die alniederländische Malerei. Berlin, 1924: 49.

  • Friedländer, Max J. Die altniederländische Malerei 14 vols.,1924-1937. Berlin, 1924: 1:104-105, pl. 44. (English ed., 14 vols., 1967-1976. Leiden, 1967: 1:63-64, pl. 57.)

1925

  • Burger, Willy. Die Malerei in den Niederlanden 1400-1550. Munich, 1925: 18-20, pl. 10.

1927

  • Reinach, S. "Three Early Panels from the Ducal Residence at Dijon."The Burlington Magazine 50 (1927): 234-245.

1928

  • Demonts, Louis. "Le Maître de l'Annonciation d'Aix, des van Eyck à Antonello de Messine." Revue de l'art ancien et moderne 53 (1928): 265, 278.

1932

  • Tolnai, Karl von. "Zur Herkunft des Stiles der van Eyck." Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 9 (1932): 322.

1934

  • Friedländer, Max J. "A New Painting by van Eyck." The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs 65, no. 376 (July 1934): 3.

  • Jong, Johannes de. Architektuur bij de Nederlandsche Schilders vóór de Hervorming. Amsterdam, 1934: 70-71, 134, 155-156, figs. 65, 128, 149.

1935

  • "Mellon Holdings Are Announced by Knoedler & Co." Art News 33 (23 February, 1935): 4, repro. 9.

  • "Mellon to Give Gallery and 19,000,000 of Art to Nation." Art Digest 9 (1 March, 1935): 6, repro.

  • Panofsky, Erwin. "The Friedsam Annunciation and the Problem of the Ghent Altarpiece." Art Bulletin 17, no. 4 (December 1935): 449, 468, 471, 473, fig. 22.

  • Tietze, Hans. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika. Vienna, 1935: 123, repro. (English ed., Masterpieces of European Painting in America. New York, 1939: 123, repro.).

1936

  • Robb, David. "The Iconography of the Annunciation in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries." Art Bulletin 18 (1936): 506-508, fig. 31.

1937

  • Beenken, Hermann. "The Annunciation of Petrus Christus in the Metropolitan Museum and the Problem of Hubert van Eyck." Art Bulletin 19 (1937): 231.

  • Dupont, Jacques. "Les peintures de la Chartreuse de Champmol." Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français (1937): 155-157.

  • Cortissoz, Royal. An Introduction to the Mellon Collection. Boston, 1937: repro. opposite p. 31.

  • Jewell, Edward Alden. "Mellon's Gift." Magazine of Art 30, no. 2 (February 1937): 82.

1938

  • Burroughs, Alan. Art Criticism from a Laboratory. Boston, 1938: 201-202.

1939

  • De Tolnay, Charles. Le Maître de Flémalle et les frères van Eyck. Brussels, 1939: 25, 66, no. 5, repro. 71-73.

1941

  • Preliminary Catalogue of Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1941: 61-62, no. 39.

  • Held, Julius S. "Masters of Northern Europe, 1430-1660, in the National Gallery." Art News 40, no. 8 (June 1941): 11, repro.

  • De Tolnay, Charles. "Flemish Paintings in the National Gallry of Art." Magazine of Art 34 (April 1941): 175-176, 178, figs. 1, 3-5.

1942

  • Friedländer, Max J. On Art and Connoisseurship. London, 1942: 186-187.

  • Book of Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 240, repro. 38.

1943

  • Beenken, Hermann. Hubert und Jan van Eyck. 2d ed. Munich, 1943: 78-80, 88, pl. 106.

1944

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Masterpieces of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1944: 84, color repro.

1945

  • Meiss, Millard. "Light as Form and Symbol in Some Fifteenth-Century Paintings." Art Bulletin 27 (1945): 178-179, fig. 4.

1946

  • Favorite Paintings from the National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C.. New York, 1946: 43-45, color repro.

1948

  • Beer, E. S. de. "Gothic: Origin and Diffusion of the Term; the Idea of Style in Architecture." Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld InstitutesI 11 (1948): 159.

  • Musper, Theodor. Untersuchungen zu Rogier van der Weyden und Jan van Eyck. Stuttgart, 1948: 104-105, pl. 165.

1949

  • Paintings and Sculpture from the Mellon Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1949 (reprinted 1953 and 1958): 52, repro.

  • L. J. Roggeveen. "De National Gallery of Art te Washington." Phoenix 4, no. 12 (December 1949): 340.

1950

  • Kauffmann, Hans. "Jan van Eyck's `Arnolfinihochzeit.'" Geistige Welt 4 (January, 1950): 48-49, repro.

1952

  • Baldass, Ludwig. Jan van Eyck. London, 1952: 54-55, 277-278, no. 9, pl. 113-115.

  • Ladoué, Pierre. "La Scène de L'Annunciation vue par les peintres." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 39 (1952): 355.

  • Meiss, Millard. "`Nicolas Albergati' and the Chronology of Jan van Eyck's Portraits." The Burlington Magazine 94 (1952): 137.

1953

  • Panofsky Erwin. Early Netherlandish Painting: Its Origins and Character. 2 vols. Cambridge, Mass., 1953: 1:137-139, 147-148, 193-194, 2: pl. 111, fig. 238.

1954

  • Fourez, Lucien. "L'Évêque Chevrot de Tournai et sa Cité de Dieu." Revue Belge d'Archéologie et d'Histoire de l'Art 23 (1954): 100-101, fig. 16.

  • Tietze, Hans. Treasures of the Great National Galleries. New York, 1954: 112, 122-123, pl. 195.

1955

  • Winkler, Friedrich. Review of Early Netherlandish Painting by Erwin Panofsky. In Kunstchronik 8 (1955): 22.

1956

  • Herzog, Erich. "Zur Kirchenmadonna van Eycks." Berliner Museen 6 (1956): 5, 14.

  • Pächt, Otto. "Review of Early Netherlandish Painting by Erwin Panofsky." The Burlington Magazine 98 (1956): 274.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1956: 36, repro.

1957

  • Quarré, Pierre. "Fragment d'un primitif de la Chartreuse de Champmol au Musée des Arts Decoratifs." La Revue des Arts 7 (1957): 63.

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): 12, fig 6, pl. 7, 121.

1960

  • Broadley Hugh T. Flemish Painting in the National Gallery of Art (Booklet no. 5 in Ten Schools of Painting in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC). Washington, 1960: 12-13, color repro.

  • [Pierre Quarré]. La Chartreuse de Champmol: Foyer d'art au temps des Ducs Valois. Exh. cat. Musée de Dijon, 1960: 15.

  • Wilenski, R. H. Flemish Painters 1430-1830. 2 vols. New York, 1960: 1:12.

  • The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 7, 19, color repro.

1961

  • Denis, Valentin. All the Paintings of Jan van Eyck. New York, 1961: 28, 48, pls. 81-85.

  • Faggin, Giuseppe. Van Eyck. Verona, 1961: 116, 126, 195, no. 14, figs. 73-76.

  • Kurz, Otto. "Eyck, Hubert, and Jan van." In Encyclopedia of World Art. 16 vols. New York, Toronto, and London, 1959-1983. Vol 5 (1961): column 327.

  • Meiss, Millard. "`Highlands' in the Lowlands. Jan van Eyck, the Master of Flémalle and the Franco-Italian Tradition." Gazette des Beaux Arts 57 (1961): 310.

  • Schilling, Rosy. "Das Llangattock-Stundenbuch. Sein Verhältnis zu Van Eyck und dem Vollender des Turin Mailänder Stundenbuches." Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 23 (1961): 225.

  • Seznec, Jean. "Michelet et l'Annonciation." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 58 (1961): 147, fig. 151.

1963

  • Bauch, Kurt. "Bildnisse des Jan van Eyck." Sitzungsberichte der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. Jahresheft 1961/1962. Wiesbaden, 1963: 101. Repr. in Kurt Bauch, Studien zur Kunstgechichte. Berlin, 1967: 83.

  • Bruyn, Josua. "Twee Kardinaalsportretten in het werk van Jan van Eyck." Album Discipulorum J. G. van Gelder. Utrecht, 1963: 30.

  • McNamee, M. B. "Further Symbolism in the Portinari Altarpiece." Art Bulletin 45, no. 2 (June 1963): 143.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 96, repro.

1965

  • Bol, L. J. Jan van Eyck. New York, 1965: 87, repro. 47.

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 48.

1966

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 1:74-75, color repro.

  • Schiller, Gertrud. Ikonographie der christlichen Kunst. 6 vols. Gütersloh, 1966-1990: 1:60-62, 213, 288-289, fig. 116.

  • Walton, William. "Parnassus on Potomac." Art News 65 (March 1966): 37.

1967

  • Thalheimer, Siegfried. Der Genter Altar. Munich, 1967: 71.

1968

  • Gandolfo, Giampaolo et al. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Great Museums of the World. New York, 1968: 12, 106-107, color repro.

  • Cuttler, Charles D. Northern Painting, from Pucelle to Bruegel: Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Centuries. New York, 1968: 85-86, fig. 101.

  • Faggin, Giorgio T. L'opera completa dei van Eyck. Milan, 1968: 94-95, repro. no. 18, pls. 35-36.

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture: Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 41, repro.

  • Meiss, Millard. French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry: The Bouciaut Master. London, 1968: 72-73.

1969

  • Blum, Shirley Neilsen. Early Netherlandish Triptychs. Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1969: 10.

  • Minott, Charles. "The Theme of the Mérode Altarpiece." Art Bulletin 51 (1969): 267.

  • Pauwels, H. "Review of Der Genter Altar by Siegfried Thalheimer." The Burlington Magazine 111 (1969): 393.

  • Peman y Pemartin, Cesar. Juan van Eyck y España. Cadiz, 1969: 43-44, fig. 24.

1970

  • Cooke, Hereward Lester. The National Gallery of Art in Washington. Munich and Ahrbeck/Hanover, 1970: 60-61, color fig. 27.

1971

  • Philip, Lotte Brand. The Ghent Altarpiece and the Art of Jan van Eyck. Princeton, 1971: 139, fig. 138.

  • Strauss, Konrad. "Keramikgefässe, insbesondere Fayencegefässe auf Tafelbildern der deutschen und niederländischen Schule des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts." Keramik-Freunde der Schweiz. Mitteilungsblatt no. 84 (197l): 22, pl. 3, fig. 1.

1972

  • Braunfels, Wolfgang. Monasteries of Western Europe. Princeton, 1972: 120, fig. 145.

  • Kahr, Madlyn. "Delilah." Art Bulletin 54 (1972): 284.

1973

  • Koller, Manfred. "Der Albrechtsmeister und Conrad Laib. Technologische Beiträge zur Tafelmalerei des `Realistischen Stiles' in Österreich." Österreichische Zeitschrift für Kunst und Denkmalpflege 27 (1973): 52.

  • Stangel, Andrew Laurie. "The Cartographic Symbolism in Jan van Eyck's Annunciation in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C." Comitatus 4 (1973): 41-48, repro. 44, 45.

  • Finley, David Edward. A Standard of Excellence: Andrew W. Mellon Founds the National Gallery of Art at Washington. Washington, 1973: 22, [26] repro.

1974

  • Birkmeyer, Karl. Review of The Ghent Altarpiece and the Art of Jan van Eyck by Lotte Brand Philip. In The Art Bulletin 56 (1974): 286.

  • Meiss, Millard. French Painting in the Time of Jean de Berry: The Limbourgs and their Contemporaries. New York, 1974: 446.

  • Walker, John. Self-Portrait with Donors: Confessions of an Art Collector. Boston, 1974: 115.

1975

  • Collier, James Mitchell. "Linear Perspective in Flemish Painting and the Art of Petrus Christus and Dirk Bouts." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1975: 62-63, fig. 16.

  • Ward, John L. "Hidden Symbolism in Jan van Eyck's Annunciations." Art Bulletin 57, no. 2 (June 1975): 196-208, repro.

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 124, 125, repro.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 120, repro. 121.

1976

  • Sterling, Charles. "Jan van Eyck avant 1432." Revue de l'Art no. 33 (1976): 9, 11.

1977

  • Williams, Carolyn. "Jan van Eyck's Annunciation: An Iconographical Study." M.A. thesis, University of Delaware, 1977.

1978

  • Bernardini, Cecilia. Jan van Eyck. Rome, 1978: 12, pl. 20.

  • Panhans-Bühler, Ursula. Eklektizismus und Originalität im Werk des Petrus Christus. Vienna, 1978: 71, fig. 4.

1979

  • Châtelet, Albert. Van Eyck. Bologna, 1979: 40, 42, pl. 7.

  • Watson, Ross. The National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1979: 47-48, pl. 30.

  • Williams, Robert C. "The Quiet Trade: Russian Art and American Money." The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. 3 (Winter 1979): 165-166, repro.

1980

  • Dhanens, Elisabeth. Hubert and Jan van Eyck. Antwerp, 1980: 355, 358, fig. 221.

1981

  • Lyman, Thomas. "Architectural Portraiture and Jan van Eyck's Washington Annunciation." Gesta 20 no. 1 (1981): 263-271, fig. 1.

  • O'Meara, Carra Ferguson. "Isabelle of Portugal as the Virgin in Jan van Eyck's Washington Annunciation." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 97 (1981): 99-103, figs. 1-2.

1982

  • Purtle, Carol J. The Marian Paintings of Jan van Eyck. Princeton, 1982: 40-58, 60, 75, figs. 26, 28-29.

1983

  • Giltay, J. Review of Hubert and Jan van Eyck by Elisabeth Dhanens. In Simiolus 13 (1983): 56-57.

1984

  • Lane, Barbara G. The Altar and the Altarpiece: Sacramental Themes in Early Netherlandish Painting. New York, 1984: 45-47, fig. 28.

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 120, no. 104, cover, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 150, repro.

  • Snyder, James E. Northern Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, the Graphic Arts from 1350-1575. New York, 1985: 103-104, fig. 103.

1986

  • Hand, John Oliver and Martha Wolff. Early Netherlandish Painting. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington,1986: 76-86, color repro. 77.

1989

  • Hinterding, Erik, and Fenny Horsch. “A Small but Choice Collection: The Art Gallery of King Willem II of the Netherlands (1792-1849).” Simiolus 20 (1989): 5, 8, fig. 4, 9, 10, n. 19, 42, n. 174, 56, no. 1.

1991

  • Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 88, 90, 91, color repro.

  • Harbison, Craig. Jan van Eyck: The Play of Realism. Seattle, 1991: 174-175, fig. 114. (Second edition, London, 2012: 192-193, 233-234, color fig. 108.)

1992

  • National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1992: 40, color repro.

  • Hall, Nicholas H. J., ed. Colnaghi in America: A Survey to Commemorate the First Decade of Colnaghi, New York. New York, 1992: 133.

1993

  • "National Gallery of Art, Washington." La Muse: Bulletin of the Tokyo Fuki Art Museum 4, no. 27 (1993): 26, repro.

  • Adams, Laurie Schneider. Art and Psychoanalysis. New York, 1993: 228-230, fig. 83

1994

  • Hand, John Oliver. Jan van Eyck's 'Annunication'. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994.

1995

  • Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York, 1995: 18, fig. 5.

  • Held, Heinz-Georg. Engel: Geschichte eines Bildmotivs. Cologne, 1995: 150-153, color fig. 6.

1996

  • Landi, Ann. "150 Years of Helping Shape a Nation's Taste." New York Times (December 1, 1996): 46.

  • Huizinga, Johan. The Autumn of the Middle Ages. Translated by Rodney J. Payton and Ulrich Mammitzsch. Chicago, 1996: 335-336, pl. 29.

  • Herzner, Volker. Jan van Eyck und der Genter Altar. Worms, 1996: 116, 122 note 31, 129 note 56, 150, 243, fig. 40.

  • Wallis, Stephen. "Sketchbook: Knoedler Turns 150." Art & Antiques 19, no. 10 (November 1996): 18, color repro.

  • Hunter, Sam and Melissa de Medeiros. The Rise of the Art World in America: Knoedler at 150. Exh. cat. M. Knoedler & Company, New York, 1996: 13.

1997

  • Richler, Martha. National Gallery of Art, Washington: A World of Art. London, 1997: 40-41, color fig. 21.

  • Kehoe, Thomas J., Harold E. Damerow, Jose E. Duvall. Exploring Western Civilization, to 1648: A Workbook for the Active Student. Dubuque, 1997: 431, fig. 5.5.

  • Shaw-Eagle, Joanna. "Christ's Birth Gave Birth to Astounding Images: Gallery Glitters with holy Masterpieces." Washington Times (December 21, 1997): D1, repro.

  • Butler, Marigene H. “An Investigation of the Philadelphia “Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata.” In Jan van Eyck: Two Paintings of Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, edited by Joseph J. Rishel. Exh. cat. Philadelphia, 1997: 40-41, 44 nt. 1, 45, nt. 22, 46, nt. 23, color fig. 57.

1998

  • Ainsworth, Maryan W. "Religious Painting from about 1420 to 1500: In the Eye of the Beholder." In From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Edited by Maryan W. Ainsworth and Keith Christiansen. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1998: 79, 81-82, fig. 44.

  • Apostolos-Cappadona, Diane. "Virgin/Virginity." In Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. Chicago, 1998: 2:905.

  • McLellan, Diana. "Really Big Shows." Washingtonian 33, no. 11 (August 1998): 70.

1999

  • Toman, Rolf, ed. Art of Gothic: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting. Translated by Christian von Arnim. Cologne, 1999: 407, color repro.

  • Vogel, Carol. "Finding Fashion and History on th Edges: Museums Look Again at Their Picture Frames." New York Times (September 2, 1999): C1, C3.

  • Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. 2 vols. Revised ed. New York, 1999: 2:18, fig. 5.

2000

  • Il'in, Nikolas, and Natalia Semënova. Prodannye sokrovishcha Rossii [Sold Treasures of Russia]. Moscow, 2000: 180-181, repro.

2001

  • Jong, Martien J.G. de. Kerstfeest in de Middeleeuwen. Leuven, 2001: 80, 89, color fig. 43.

  • Holm, Kerstin. "Kaum enteignet, schon verscherbelt." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung no. 23 (27 January 2001): 21.

2002

  • Borchert, Till-Holger. "The Age of Van Eyck: The Mediterranean World and Early Netherlandish Painting 1430-1530. Exh. cat. Groeningemuseum, Bruges. London, 2002: 22, 67, fig. 17.

  • Prochno, Renate. _ Die Kartause von Champmol: Grablege der burgundischen Herzöge 1364-1477_. Berlin, 2002: 207-209, fig. 107.

  • Kaufman, John Edward. "Show of Netherlandish Art Another Charm of Brugge." Washington Times (June 15, 2002): 52.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 38-41, no. 28, color repros.

2005

  • Snyder, James E. Northern Renaissance Art: Painting, Sculpture, the Graphic Arts from 1350 to 1575. Revised by Larry Silver and Henry Luttikhuizen. Upper Saddle River, 2005: 99-100, fig. 5.16.

  • Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. Rev. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, 2005: 593, color fig. 17-12.

2006

  • Purtle, Carol J. "The Context of Van Eyck's Approach to the Thyssen Annunciation Diptych." In Hand, John Oliver and Ron Spronk, eds. Essays in Context: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych. Cambridge and New Haven, 2006: 76-77, fig. 4

  • Carl, Doris. Benedetto da Maiano: A Florentine Sculptor at the Threshold of the High Renaissance. 2 vols. Turnhout, Belgium, 2006: 347

2008

  • Lindquist, Sherry C.M. _ Agency, Visuality and Society at the Chartreuse de Champmol_. Aldershot, 2008: 78-79 nt.203.

  • Nash, Susie. Northern Renaissance Art. Oxford History of Art. Oxford, 2008: 205.

  • Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck. Cologne, 2008: 49-51, color repro.

2009

  • Hudson, Hugh. Jan van Eyck: The Ince Hall Virgin and Child and the Scientific Examination of Early Netherlandish Painting. Saarbrücken, 2009: 94, 125, 156, 160, 170, 210, 265.

  • Odom, Anne, and Wendy R. Salmond, eds. Treasures into Tractors: The Selling of Russia's Cultural Heritage, 1918-1938. Washington, 2009: 91, 104 n. 50-51,130 fig. 5.8, 131, fig. 5.9, 135 n. 62.

2010

  • Nagel, Alexander and Christopher Wood. Anachronic Renaissance. Brooklyn, 2010: 155-156, 158, 337, fig. 14.4.

2011

  • Kemperdick, Stephan. “Saints with Shadows: Konrad Witz and Netherlandish Painting.” In Konrad Witz. Exh. cat. Kunstmuseum Basel, 2011. Ostfildern, 2011: 41, color fig. 19.

  • Fiedler, Susanne, and Torsten Knuth. "Vexierbilder einer Biographie: Dr. Heinz Mansfeld (1899-1959)." Mecklenburgische Jahrbücher 126 (2011):307.

2012

  • Jack, Belinda. The Woman Reader. New Haven, 2012: 110, fig. 27.

  • Uspenski, Boris. "The Composition of the Ghent Altarpiece (Divine and Human Perspectives)." In Vision and Material: Interaction Between Art and Science in Jan van Eyck's Time. Brussels, 2012: 198-199, color fig. 10.6.

2013

  • König, Eberhard. “Wie die Welt in die Bilder kam.” Weltkunst 68 (January 2013): 44, 47, 49, color repro.

  • Harris, Neil. Capital Culture: J. Carter Brown, the National Gallery of Art, and the Reinvention of the Museum Experience. Chicago and London, 2013: 2, 465.

  • Gifford, E. Melanie, Catherine A. Metzger, and John K. Delaney. "Jan van Eyck's Washington Annunciation: Painting Materials and Techiques." and David Bull, "The Cleaning and Restoration of Jan van Eyck's Washington Annunciation." Facture: conservation, science, art history 1 (2013): 128-153, figs. 1-17a, b, 19a-k, 156-166, figs. 1-8.

  • Semyonova, Natalya, and Nicolas V. Iljine, eds. Selling Russia's Treasures: The Soviet Trade in Nationalized Art 1917-1938. New York and London, 2013: 138, 139, 170, 206, repro.

2014

  • Lavin, Marilyn Aronberg. An Allegory of Divine Love: the Netherlandish Blockbook Canticum canticorum. Early Modern Catholicism and the Visual Arts 10. Philadelphia, 2014): 55, 56, color fig. 42.

2016

  • Farago, Jason. "A Closer Look, From Jesus to Judgment." New York Times 165, no. 56,133 (February 5, 2016): C23.

  • Jaques, Susan. The Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia. New York, 2016: 398.

  • Warner-Johnson, Tim, and Jeremy Howard, eds. Colnaghi: Past, Present and Future: An Anthology. London, 2016: 50, color plate 2.

  • National Gallery of Art. Highlights from the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Washington, 2016: repro. 44, 45.

  • Capron, Emma. "Collecting Jan van Eyck from Europe to America." In The Charterhouse of Bruges: Jan van Eyck, Petrus Christus, and Jan Vos. Exh. cat. Frick Collection 2016. New York, 2016: 31, 111, 114, 116, 129, 130 note 31; 109 color fig. 68; 106 color repro.

2018

  • Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Truth & Beauty: A Pictorial. Pictoria series. San Francisco, 2018: 4, 16-17, color fig. 18, back cover color detail. ["Adopted from the exhibition catalog."]

2019

  • Saracino, Francesco. "Meditazioni su un cuscino di Jan van Eyck." Iconographica XVIII (2019): 72-81, figs. 1, 2 (det).

2021

  • Adams, Laurie Schneider. "Semiotics I, Structuralism and Post-Structuralism." In The Methodologies of Art: An Introduction. 2nd ed. London, 2021: 162, 163, fig. 66.

  • Huizinga, Johan. Autumntide of the Middle Ages: A Study of Forms of Life and Thought of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries in France and the Low Countries. Leiden, 2021: 419-420, color fig. 20.7.

2022

  • Bernhard Ridderbos, "Choices and Intentions in the Mérode Altarpiece," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 14, no. 2 (Winter 2022): fig. 11. DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2022.14.1.2

2023

  • Acres, Alfred. Jan van Eyck within His Art. London, 2023: 53-54, 57, fig. 18 (detail), 58, 63, 73-74, 92, fig. 29, 94-96, 97, fig. 30 (detail), 100, 105, 107, 152.

Inscriptions

top of back wall to the right of furthest left figure: MOYSES F[I]SCELLA; above second figure from left: FI...PHARAONIS; on banderole: O IN VS HEBREORVM HIC EST; on globe in window: ASIA; above third figure from left: Moyses; on banderole: NO ASSVMES NOM DI TVI I VAN[VM]; above fourth figure from left: DNS; middle of back wall on left roundel: ISAAC; on right roundel: JACOB; to the right of Gabriel: AVE GRA PLENA; to the left of Mary, upside down and backwards: ECCE ANCILLA DNI; lower left on floor: A DALIDA VXORE S; lower center: SAVL REX; DAVID; GOLIAS; second row center: SAMSSON MVLTAS GENTES INTERFECIT T 9VIVIO

Wikidata ID

Q2734881

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