BEER, Jan de
(b. ca. 1475, Antwerpen, d. ca. 1528, Antwerpen)

Annunciation

c. 1520
Oil on panel, 112 x 131 cm
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

The two panels, depicting the Birth of the Virgin ad the Annunciation, form a pair and relate two episodes from the life of the Virgin. Stylistically they are heavily indebted to the Early Netherlandish painters, such as Jan van Eyck and the Master of Flémalle. In the Annunciation scene the artist has aimed to give the religious subject a realistic and everyday feeling, emphasizing the human side of the protagonists.