calls it "a glorious document of the sovereign power of genius";2 and few would disagree with this evaluation of its composition. However, the interest evoked by this painting is not primarily caused by its formal qualities, but rather by the realistically presented content which "impresses the beholder with a kind of mystery and makes him inclined to suspect a hidden significance in all and every object."3 The modern spectator without information about the iconographical meaning of the single details will, in fact, admire at first the painting for its careful realism. The furtrimmed coat of the bridegroom, the little dog at the feet of the couple, the fruit on the window sill, the red drapery of the nuptial bed, the colored rug, and the artful ornaments of the chandelier-all these