page_title: The Fountain of Life (painting)
section_title: Upper terrace
hierarchical_section_title: The Fountain of Life (painting) / Description / Upper terrace
caption_attribution_description: The Fountain of Life, detail
context_page_description: The Fountain of Life or The Fountain of Grace and the Triumph of the Church over the Synagogue are names given to an oil on panel painting completed c 1432. For most of its history the painting has been in Spain, latterly in the Museo del Prado which recently featured it in a special exhibition. Stylistically and thematically, the painting is related to the work of Jan van Eyck, but it is unsigned and there have been competing theories as to whether it is by van Eyck himself.
  The subject matter of the painting would have been of particular interest in 15th century Spain which had the world's largest Jewish community.
  There has been recent speculation that it was painted by van Eyck himself, possibly while he was on a diplomatic mission to the Iberian peninsula. However, technical analysis suggests that it was painted in the Netherlands, albeit possibly in response to a commission from Spain, in van Eyck's workshop.
  The Fountain of Life closely resembles passages in the 1432 Ghent Altarpiece by Jan and his brother Hubert.
context_section_description: The top level shows a Deësis scene, with God the Father in the center, flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist. This passage closely resembles a similar scene in the Ghent Altarpiece. All three figures are seated in front of hanging oriental style carpets.
  God holds a staff in his left hand, and holds up his right up in the act of blessing. He is enthroned within a tall, elaborate Gothic architectural setting. His throne contains symbols of the Evangelists, while the baldachin around and above him is decorated with illusionistic painted reliefs of Old Testament prophets intended to look like sculptures. The lamb sits on a pedestal before God, on a structure through which the water of grace, symbolising the rite of baptism, flows before reaching the fountain of life in the lowest terrace.
  Mary is seated and reading a red book, probably a book of hours. She wears a blue gown, the folds and cloth of which are closely detailed. She has blond hair which is unbraided and falls over her shoulders. In contrast to her depiction in the Ghent Altarpiece, here her dress is plain, lacks any embroidery or gilded lining, while her book is not girdled. John is dressed in a green robe, also has blond hair and sits writing in a holy book.
caption: Detail showing the Virgin Mary
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