Jean Fouquet at the Gemaldegalerie, Berlin

There's a lovely small exhibition at the Gemaldegalerie in Berlin that's just opened that features Jean Bouquet's famous diptych of the Virgin Mary and Donor, often referred to as the Melun Diptych although the two wings are in different museums. The Gemaldegalerie has reunited them for this exhibition, alongside other Fouquet portraits as well as those that influenced his work.

I was in the Gemaldegalerie on Wednesday last week when the exhibition was being photographed and, again, on Friday when it opened. It's in a small room near the entrance to the gallery with a big 'no photography' sign at the door and, like a good lad, I obeyed the sign.

This is really a portrait exhibition since one of the panels is all about the donor, Etienne Chevalier and his patron saint St Stephen, and the other is Agnes Sorel, mistress to Charles VII of France, as the Virgin Mary. The pale white of Mary's skin is really odd compared to the red and blue angels that surround her, especially with one breast exposed, but this was a very peculiar commission designed to curry favour with the king.

As a portraits exhibition it was lovely to see Van Eyck's 'Portrait of a Man' also shown. I'm very familiar with this man who is the husband in 'The Arnolfini Portrait' in the National Gallery in London. He's unmistakeable and I'm delighted to have seen him at last, after seeing the reproduction in books.

There are other small portraits and drawings to illuminate the main portraits, such as those by Robert Campina and another by Fouquet of an old man in need of a good shave. I don't know who this man is but I like him. He's obviously sharing a funny story in the local pub and anticipates being bought another drink at the end of it and I probably would.

There's also a page of drawings by Benozzo Gozzoli, a pupil of Fra Angelico, on display and another page attributed to his 'school'. This page is supposedly influential in the pose of St Stephen in the diptych. It might be and I love the link to Fra Angelico but it might also be someone going a bit too far in making links between artists and paintings.

It's a lovely exhibition that is well worth seeing if you're in the area. It's small but you've got the rest of the Gemaldegalerie to explore as well.