BROEDERLAM, Melchior
(active 1381-1409)

The Annunciation (detail)

1393-99
Tempera on wood
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon

The picture shows a detail of the left wing of the Dijon Altarpiece.

The lily with four flowers, which stands between Mary and the angel Gabriel in the foreground is a well-established symbol of virginity. Commentators have drawn attention to the angel bowing before Mary, with his curly hair and elegant figure, as if he were a heavenly troubadour pledging allegiance to his lady. Mary's ultramarine cloak and her brocade dress of blue and gold, with its details picked out in red, are of the style which was favoured at that time by ladies of the Burgundian court. It would seem that even the cut of his figure's clothes, Broederlam may have been following instructions from his patron, Philip the Bold.