Madonna in the Church is a small oil panel painting by the Early Netherlandish artist Jan van Eyck. Probably created c. 1438–40, it shows the Virgin Mary in a Gothic cathedral holding the Child Jesus. She is presented as Queen of Heaven, wearing a jewel-studded crown and cradling a playful child who grips the hem of her dress. Light pours through the windows, illuminating the interior and culminating in two pools near her feet. Tracery at the rear of the church nave contains wooden carvings depicting episodes from her life. The work evidences the new approach and techniques applied to 15th-century oil painting but is still influenced by medieval, monumental Byzantine depictions of the Madonna; she is unrealistically large compared to her surroundings. Most art historians believe the panel began as the left wing of a since- dismantled diptych; its opposite wing was most likely a votive portrait.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_in_the_Church

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1796:

French Revolutionary Wars: The French defeated Austrian forces in Bassano, Venetia, present-day Italy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bassano

1831:

The Russian Empire brought the Polish November Uprising to an end when its troops captured Warsaw after a two-day assault. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Warsaw_(1831)

1935:

US Senator Huey Long was fatally shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Long

1941:

World War II: German forces severed the last land connection to Leningrad, beginning a 28-month siege that would result in the deaths of over 1 million of the city's civilians from starvation, making it one of the most lethal battles in world history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad

1966:

Queen Elizabeth II opened the Severn Bridge, hailing it as the dawn of a new economic era for South Wales. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severn_Bridge

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

freakish: 1. Resembling a freak. 2. Strange, unusual, abnormal or bizarre. 3. Capricious, unpredictable. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/freakish

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

You're sure There's a cure. And you have finally found it. You think One drink Will shrink you 'til you're underground And living down. But it's not going to stop. It's not going to stop. It's not going to stop 'Til you wise up.   --Magnolia https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Magnolia_(film)