The Merode Altarpiece resides in three hinged panels in the format of triptych. The right panel characterizes Joseph in his workshop; the center and most significant panel display the Annunciation itself, and it's two main individuals Mary and Archangel Gabriel; the left panel illustrates the donor and his wife. The white lilies and the white towel both imply to Mary's purity. Joseph is pictured working in his carpentry workshop, surrounded by symbolic tools. The saw hints at the tool that St Peter used to cut the ear off of Malchus, during the betrayal and arrest of Christ. The Descent from the Cross exhibits the time when Christ body is removed from the cross to be taken away for burial. There are nine people in the painting, almost everyone
