[Albion Wilde]

I agree that #5 by Paul Leroy is a stand-out, in terms of draftsmanship, composition, storytelling, historic accuracy of the house and furnishings, and perhaps the clothing as well (I question the availability of the snow-white fabric of Mary's garment, and even the saturated colors of Martha and Jesus' robes, but they do make a compelling visual statement).

In #6 by Diego Velazquez, I was struck by the focus on Martha's face, with its child-like struggle with jealous resentment, as well as by the image of the Master with Mary and the other student reflected in a wall mirror.

The lavishness of the crystal stemware pictured in Allessandro Allori #4 seemed out of place, but caused me to look up the history of crystalware. Surprisingly, lead-glass artifacts have been found pre-dating the life of Christ; but stemware? I'm thinking 16th century, according to Wikipedia's summary. The Mediterranean olive-grove agricultural style of living depicted most strikingly in #15 (also in 33, 38) is probably more accurate.

Again, the stained glass (41, 42,43), in their essential simplicity, are direct at telling the story, as well as beautiful.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I, too, was skeptical of the crystal (although I was too dull to extend my disbelief beyond the materials to the form); thanks for researching effectively and reporting.

[etabeta]

As I understand, wool could be bleached in the sun to achieve a white color. Other colors were obtained from plants, fruits, minerals, shellfish etc. It’s an ancient art and a fascinating subject. Here is a short article on textiles during the Middle Ages.

http://postej-stew.dk/2019/05/medieval-fabrics-part-2/