La Virgen de la fuente

This is the last painting Jan van Eyck signed and dated, finished in 1439, two years before his death. It is astonishingly small, about 19 by 12 centimeters, barely larger than a postcard, yet worked with the same patience he gave to far grander commissions. Mary stands in an enclosed garden holding the Christ child against her shoulder, while two angels lift a cloth of gold brocade behind her. At the left a small fountain spills four streams into a basin, an old sign for the source of life, and the roses and lilies around her feet each carry their own meaning of purity. The original frame survives, painted to look like stone and inscribed with van Eyck's motto, ALS IXH CAN, as best I can.