Madonna of Chancellor Rolin by Jan van Eyck

Where? Second floor, room 818 of the Richelieu wing in the Louvre
When? Between 1435 and 1440
Commissioned by? Nicolas Rolin, the Chancellor of Burgundy under Duke Philip the Good.

What do you see? Nicolas Rolin kneels down in front of the Virgin Mary who is holding Baby Jesus. Rolin's hands are folded in prayer, and he has an open book on his lap. He does not seem to look at Mary and Jesus. Mary wears a red gown with jewelry in it and looks down with humility. Baby Jesus has his right hand raised to bless Rolin and holds an orb with a cross (called a globus cruciger) in his left hand.

​Above Mary, an Angel with rainbow-colored wings holds a crown. It seems that the Angel is going to crown Mary as the Queen of Heaven. 

Van Eyck included many interesting details in this painting. Several flowers are growing outside the building, including irises, lilies, and roses. Two peacocks walk around, as well as two magpies to the left of the flowers. Two small figures are in the background. One of them looks at the city while the other looks at the peacock.

​The meeting between Rolin and the Virgin Mary is situated in a beautiful, Roman-style, palace-like building on top of a hill with a view of the world in the background. You can see the stained glass windows on the top and sculpted figures on top of the columns.

Detail of the Crown

In the background, you can see a city on the left, a river and bridge in the middle, and several church towers on the right, above the head of Jesus.
​
Backstory: This painting is also known as The Virgin with Chancellor Rolin or The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin.  The painting entered the collection of the Louvre in 1805.

​Nicolas Rolin commissioned this painting for the Saint Sebastian chapel (the Rolin family chapel) in the Notre-Dame-du-Châtel church in Autun, near Dijon in France. This was the church that Rolin visited when he grew up and where his ancestors were buried. Rolin was the main patron of this church, and there was even an elevated walkway from his house to the church such that he could enter it at any time.
​
Symbolism: The cross that Jesus holds in his left hand reminds the viewers that Jesus died for the sins of mankind. The three arches in the middle background represent the Holy Trinity, God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The peacocks are a symbol of immortality. The flowers in the middle symbolize different virtues of Mary. 

Behind the praying hands of Rolin is a church tower to symbolize his faith. The church towers behind Jesus signify him as the center of the Church. The bridge in the background unites the common people and the Church. Some people have identified the city in the background as the New Jerusalem, but others are not so sure about this interpretation.

Who is Rolin? Nicolas Rolin (1376-1462) was the Chancellor of Burgundy under Duke Philip the Good. He was Chancellor for more than 40 years and was instrumental in the successes of Burgundy and France during the 15th century. Together with his second wife, he founded the Hospice the Beaune, a charitable house for poor people to live in.

​In 1434, Rolin commissioned a large altarpiece by Rogier van der Weyden for the hospice. Van der Weyden painted Rolin and his wife on two of the back panels of the altarpiece. He also founded a new religious order called ‘’les sœurs hospitalières de Beaune’, which was a sisterhood of nuns who would care for the poor people in the Hospice.

Panel with Rolin from the Beaune Altarpiece

Who is Van Eyck? Jan van Eyck was born around 1390 in Maaseik, Belgium, and died in 1441. He is one of the most important representatives of the Northern Renaissance. Until 1429, he was a court painter of Duke Philip the Good, which explains why he was asked for this painting. During this time, he undertook several diplomatic missions across Europe for the Duke. Among other countries, he visited Italy, where he could learn from the innovative Italian painters.

Van Eyck was ahead of his time by using a realistic and naturalistic style in his work. This was, in part, possible because he was one of the first painters who used oil paint. He has had a big influence on future artists, including Sandro Botticelli. One of his most famous works hangs in the National Gallery in London and is The Arnolfini Portrait, which was probably painted a year before the Madonna of Chancellor Rolin.

The Arnolfini Portrait by Van Eyck

Fun fact: The capital above the head of Rolin contains some very interesting details. It contains the following scenes:

• Adam and Eve expulsed from Paradise.
• Cain killing Abel.
• Noah’s drunkenness with the Ark on the top left
• On the capital on the right side of the room is a scene about Abraham and Melchizedek.

However, Van Eyck seems to have freely interpreted these Biblical stories as he has altered some details. For example, to the right of Noah, four men are depicted. These men should represent the sons of Noah. However, Noah only had three sons. It seems likely that Van Eyck has altered these scenes to draw some parallels with Rolin’s life. Rolin, for example, had four sons and each of the ‘sons of Noah’ seem to represent the different roles of the sons of Rolin.
​
Interested in a copy for yourself? Poster or canvas.

Detail of the capitals

---

Written by Eelco Kappe

References:

• Felheim, Marvin, and Brownlow, F. W. (1968), “Jan Van Eyck's ‘Chancellor Rolin and the Blessed Virgin’,” Art Journal, 28(1), 22-58.
• Smith, Molly Teasdale (1981), “On the Donor of Jan van Eyck's Rolin Madonna,” Gesta, 20(1), 273-279.
• Ward, John L. (1969), “Van Eyck's Chancellor Rolin and the Blessed Virgin,” Art Journal, 28(3), 288-289.