While the Flemish were skilled in oil painting, Italian Renaissance artists continued their predecessors' use of tempera. Furthermore, the paintings were ultimately created for different purposes and separate viewers. Although both works focus on the decisive moment of the annunciation, the Merode Altarpiece incorporates this scene into a secular setting, thus differing from Fra Angelico's Annunciation which was painted for a monastery. Finally, Flemish and Italian Renaissance paintings differ in levels of realism. Although Flemish painters were skilled at portraying the realism of physical forms, they lacked a full understanding of linear perspective. In contrast, Italian Renaissance artists were skilled in linear perspective but lacked a complete understanding of the natural