During class we honed in on the idea of the horizon line, vanishing point and the way the Italians use the rules of perspective in their paintings. Specifically, in Exeter Madonna we observe an aerial view with the horizon line being distant and foggy. It includes the blurring of details the farther away things are from the perspective location and the alteration of the hue to being more blue.
We also discussed disguised symbolism which is when symbolistic objects are intentionally painted in the natural environment they belong in. In the Merode Triptych there are many examples of disguised symbolism. The towel is drawn to look like a tallit, the white lilies represent the Holy Trinity and there are two in bloom signifying Jesus yet to be born as human. The candle represents Christ’s human nature, soul and divinity and many speculate it is extinguished because he is giving up his divinity for the time being to be on Earth as a human. It also included the tiny man riding the cross on a ray of light through the window, going in the direction of Mary’s womb, referring to her virginity and the conception of Christ.