Van Eyck painting

In looking at some of the paintings by Van Eyck and Durer, I was so impressed with Van Eyck and the amount of detail in his paintings. One painting that was very interesting is called "The Fountain of Grace and Triumph of the Church over the Synagogue." At first glance the painting has a lot of vertical lines, drawing the eye upward. It is also very symmetrical, and the triangle shape is very apparent. The painting has three levels, and the top two levels have a serene feeling. There is the Pope (I assume) on top with a lamb at his feet, possibly suggesting that he is the representative of the Lamb of God. He is flanked on either side by saints reading the scriptures. The second level is also serene, with people playing different musical instruments.

The bottom level is a little different. The left side also has vertical lines. but the right-hand corner is different. There are diagonal lines there. I zoomed in, and found that the right corner depicted the Jews. They are carrying scrolls of scriptures and the man in front is blindfolded and wearing the breastplate. They are distressed, falling down, and seem to be driven out. The people on the other side are kneeling and looking smug, like "we're right, and you're wrong." Hence the title of the painting, the Triumph of the Church over the Synagogue.

Then down the middle is a river of water flowing into the fountain in the middle of the bottom. The water is filled with coins it appears, signifying grace I suppose. One of the people on the left is pointing at the fountain as if to say, "see, we have the grace of God with us, you don't." I really enjoyed this painting, and discovering all there was to see in it. The level of detail is amazing!