The Story
Painting • Paintings
Created in 1527 during the Renaissance period, this work belongs firmly within the religion & mythology tradition. Jan Gossart worked at a moment when the rivalry between Catholic Baroque drama and Protestant restraint reshaped what a painting could mean. Every gesture, fabric, and gleam of light was decoded by contemporary viewers like a private language.
Executed in Oil on wood, measuring Overall 17 7/8 x 13 5/8 in. (45.4 x 34.6 cm); painted surface 17 1/4 x 13 in. (43.8 x 33 cm), the surface rewards close looking. Jan Gossart builds the composition through layered glazes and a tightly controlled palette, letting cool shadows recede so that the warm, lit passages step forward. The brushwork shifts from the precise to the almost dissolved — a hallmark of mature Baroque practice.
“A silence so complete it becomes its own witness.”
