Realism

As the 14th century progressed, the people of the Northern Countries shifted away from the scholastic philosophy of religion to the autonomy of human experience.
Jan van Eyck's paintings are highly glazed with a divine reality, and the environments were carefully constructed (although none of his interiors are of any one place in particular, which is unique to Gothic art.) According to Craig Harbison in his "Realism and Symbolism in Early Flemish Painting" (The Art Bulletin vol. 66 no. 4), van Eyck was not only interested in recording, but rather he was more involved with interpreting data and turning it into supernatural truth.

Harbison also points out that not one of van Eyck's paintings contain an earthly event or place. All of his scenes take place around divine happenings, and all earthly objects are infused with hidden symbolism. His aim was to "remind one, even lead one, to ultimate or universal truth." It can be seen that the detailed and exquisite renderings of biblical themes and narratives would bring one closer to the actual "event", using only the characters as groundwork for the believer's reality.