Detail of the Virgin Mary
Beeld © Sint-Baafskathedraal Gent, www.lukasweb.be – Art in Flanders, foto Hugo Maertens en Dominique Provost
Van Eyck makes abundant use of gold colours for some of the figures in the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb – for example, here, for the Virgin Mary. He does this to draw attention to these characters and to indicate how important they are. Contemporary designers also use gold or gold colour as a strategy: they know that it arouses the curiosity of the viewer and that it is associated with great value. Among others, Barbara Nanning and Tinus Vermeersch play with these meanings in their work.
Yellow pigments are often derived from metal oxides – for example, lead-tin-yellow, that was used in oil paintings until the 18th century.