Petra,
I'll be Devil's advocate here and suggest that the painting is not a reliable source for a time record. The work is designed and composed entirely for purposes of grandure, pomp, ceremony and effect. Guests alone would not have been gathered around as depicted in the painting - it's not a photographic record. The painting would have taken months to complete, and as such would have been composed & designed entirely for dramatic effect. This includes the angle of incidence of the Sunlight. It could also be very likely that the "sunlight" in the painting might actually be impossible to have occured to illuminate the altar as shown. It is a scene that is entirely composed for effect. Contrived.
Alex.
|