The Virgin and Child

The use of oil as a medium revolutionized the art of painting. It allowed painters to layer pigments in translucent glazes that could be blended into a seamless finish. Bouts was influenced by Jan van Eyck, who pioneered the use of oil to represent luminous substances and fleeting effects. The transparent veil, flowing hair, glinting pearls, and pale, radiant skin of this Virgin and Child showcase the possibilities of the new medium. This painting, most likely part of a devotional diptych, is made using the same cartoon (full-scale preparatory drawing) as a painting now in Frankfurt. However, the painting’s underdrawing, as seen through the use of infrared reflectography, reveals a drawing of a standing nude woman. Bouts had a well-run workshop in which he also trained his two sons. Recent scholarship has proposed that this may be among the first independent works of the artist’s son Albrecht.