Madonna in the Church is a small oil panel painting by Jan van Eyck, an Early Netherlandish artist. 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. (Full article...)
Peter Sellers (1925–1980) was a British film actor, comedian and singer. He performed in the BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show, featured on a number of hit comic songs and became known to a world-wide audience through his many film characterisations, among them Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther series of films. Sellers's versatility enabled him to portray a wide range of comic characters using different accents and guises, and he would often assume multiple roles within the same film, frequently with contrasting temperaments and styles, as in Dr. Strangelove. Satire and black humour were major features of many of his works, and his performances had a strong influence on a number of later comedians.
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