The Fountain of Life (painting)

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.

[2] Although there is consensus among specialists that it is the product of a workshop, some attribute The Fountain of Life to a youthful Jan, his brother Hubert,[3] or much later, and less likely, Petrus Christus.

The water that flows from the top to the lower terrace, is intended as a symbol of "the Grace that illuminates the Triumphant Church and blinds the Synagogue".

[6] The top level shows a Deësis scene, with God the Father in the center, flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist.

The lamb sits on a pedestal before God, on a structure through which the water of grace,[7] symbolising the rite of baptism, flows before reaching the fountain of life in the lowest terrace.

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.

The lower section represents the triumph of the Church over the Jewish Synagogue, through the depiction of the Christians as collect as almost serene, and the Jews as chaotic, blinded and resistant.

The fountain of life is positioned in the center, with a group of Christians to its left, including a Pope (possibly Martin V), members of his service,[8] an emperor and various princes.

The painting was moved to the Trinidade monastery opposite the Atocha station in Madrid, used as a general store for the religious wealth collected.

[6] The Prado version was the star of an exhibition of its reassessments in 2003, and it was previously the subject of the 1957 Utrecht doctoral thesis of Josua Bruyn, who went on to become Professor of the History of Art at Amsterdam and establish the Rembrandt Foundation.