An Oil-Rich Revolution: Christian Painting in the 15th Century

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Jonathon Lopez

Jan van Eyck, The Three Marys at the Tomb, c. 1430-1435. Panel, 71.5 x 90 cm. Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen

NETHERLANDS---Early in the 15th century, the Van Eyck family of Netherlandish painters—principally brothers Hubert and Jan—initiated a visual revolution that radically altered the course of European art history. A splendid exhibition at this city's Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen traces the roots of these developments through a judicious survey of the art and culture of the era, culminating in an excellent (although not extensive) selection of works by the Van Eycks themselves. This show, which will not travel, presents the Van Eycks' achievements in a rich and revelatory context impossible to replicate in any individual museum or collection anywhere in the world, and therefore merits a special trip. [link]