Focus on this artwork and discuss the Interpretation.
The main story of the artwork, the betrothal of Joseph and the Virgin Mary, did not come from the Bible, but from apocryphal sources like the Golden Legend. There are also stained-glass windows in the painting's architecture depicting scenes from the Old Testament that were intended to signal the redemption of Christ. Erwin Panofsky believed that The Marriage of The Virgin was a story about redemption. The symbolism of the Gothic architecture on the right is related to the imminent arrival of the New Law under Jesus. On the left side, Campin depicts Joseph who is going to be betrothed to Mary, indicating that Jesus has not been born yet. This reinforces the message that the Romanesque architecture is symbolic for the Old Testament which represents a time where Judaism was widely practiced and followed. The newer Gothic architecture is a representation of the New Testament since the new law was of Christian belief.Panofsky believed that the unfinished architecture was intended as a metaphor for the beginning of Christianity. He viewed the painting as a form of disguised symbolism since there are indications of hidden meanings that reside in the architecture of his painting. This includes some of the figures in his artwork as well.
Judaism Romanesque Gothic architecture Christianity Campin New Testament Erwin Panofsky Romanesque architecture Old Testament