of Van Eyck’s modesty but an indication that he used a projecting machine. “As I can, but not as I would” perhaps means “I can do it with a machine, but I’d rather do it myself.” Maybe Van Eyck felt he could become closer to the truth by using an optical device comparable to how modern people trust a microscope more than their own eyes. The bottom inscription reads in Latin, “Jan van Eyck made me on 21st October 1433”. He placed a similar autograph on two of his religious works, Madonna at the