But the fortunate ones who did see it thought that the pictures in it were actually painted by the Van Eycks when they were young.

The Duke of Berry's finest book is at Chantilly and is well known.

Both this and the Turin book contained the loveliest early landscapes, a little earlier in date than this landscape in the 'Three Maries' picture.

So you see why it is said that the illuminators first invented beautiful landscape painting, and that landscapes were painted in books before they were painted as pictures to hang on walls.
The practical spirit in which Hubert van Eyck worked exactly matched the sensible, matter-of-fact Flemish character.

The Flemings, even in pictures of the Madonna, wanted the Virgin to wear a gown made of the richest stuff that could be woven, truthfully painted, with jewels of the finest Flemish workmanship, and they liked to see a landscape behind her studied from their own native surroundings.
No man could try to paint things as they looked, in the way Hubert did, without making great progress in drawing.