Gerard David was the last great master to practise the stylistic tradition of Early Netherlandish painting that originated with Jan van Eyck. This is a curious art, with a radically different approach to that of Italian contemporaries, who incidentally were enthusiastic admirers of Northern paintings; indeed, it was from these that they picked up the knack of painting with oils. But this technical innovation, which charmed onto the surface a vitreous shine like a transparent precious stone, is only one of countless means with which these pictures enchant the receptive viewer. The aesthetics of