Tonal

In the background of the image you can see
the aerial perspective of the outside world,
this shows the vineyards in which Chancellor
Rolin gains most of his wealth.
Baby Jesus sat on the lap of the virgin Mary, has
very old looking features. Van Eyck may have
painted him this way to show how wise Jesus is
supposed to be.
The Virgin Mary is clothed in a long red gown. Flying above her head is an angel which is placing a crown
upon her head. Mary is not engaging with the viewer or any of the other people in the picture. It is unusual
for her to be clothed in red because in most portraits she is shown to be painted in blue. This was due to the
fact that blue was an expensive colour because it was made for lapis lazuli which can only be found in
mines in Afghanistan.
On the capitals of the columns you can see detailed sculptures of the sins of man. Van Eyck has painted in great detail the
drunkenness of Noah and the sins of Adam and Eve. These are stories from the Old Testament. The columns in the background and
the arches are in the style of Romanesque architecture.