This document provides details on several paintings by Jan van Eyck, including the Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife, The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin, The Annunciation, and Madonna in the Church. For the Arnolfini portrait, it describes the symbolic mirror in the background and debate around whether it depicts an actual marriage. For The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin, it explains that Nicolas Rolin commissioned the painting and depicts him kneeling in prayer. The document also provides background on the symbolism in The Annunciation and size and context of Madonna in the Church.
Jan van Eyck was one of the greatest revolutionaries in art. He radically changed the way in which men look at the natural world. His artistic achievements were well-known in Renaissance Italy. Vasari, who wrote about Van Eyck a hundred years later, wrongly attributed the discovery of oil painting to him. Only a few years after his death in 1441, Jan van Eyck was being hailed on both sides of the Alps as one of the greatest painter of the age.
Despite Van Eyck’s great fame, little is known of his life except for his last years. For the last 16 years of his life, he worked at the court of Philip the Good, The Duke of Burgundy. The Duke made use of his skills as both painter and diplomat, sending him on numerous secret missions.
The works of Jan van Eyck are celebrated for their visual splendor and precision of detail. Their brilliant colours and magnificent definition are due to Jan’s refinement of the oil-painting technique and died even before the great High Renaissance master painters were even born.
Jan van Eyck was one of the greatest revolutionaries in art. He radically changed the way in which men look at the natural world. His artistic achievements were well-known in Renaissance Italy. Vasari, who wrote about Van Eyck a hundred years later, wrongly attributed the discovery of oil painting to him. Only a few years after his death in 1441, Jan van Eyck was being hailed on both sides of the Alps as one of the greatest painter of the age.
Despite Van Eyck’s great fame, little is known of his life except for his last years. For the last 16 years of his life, he worked at the court of Philip the Good, The Duke of Burgundy. The Duke made use of his skills as both painter and diplomat, sending him on numerous secret missions.
The works of Jan van Eyck are celebrated for their visual splendor and precision of detail. Their brilliant colours and magnificent definition are due to Jan’s refinement of the oil-painting technique.
Jan van Eyck was one of the greatest revolutionaries in art. He radically changed the way in which men look at the natural world. His artistic achievements were well-known in Renaissance Italy. Vasari, who wrote about Van Eyck a hundred years later, wrongly attributed the discovery of oil painting to him. Only a few years after his death in 1441, Jan van Eyck was being hailed on both sides of the Alps as one of the greatest painter of the age.
Despite Van Eyck’s great fame, little is known of his life except for his last years. For the last 16 years of his life, he worked at the court of Philip the Good, The Duke of Burgundy. The Duke made use of his skills as both painter and diplomat, sending him on numerous secret missions.
The works of Jan van Eyck are celebrated for their visual splendor and precision of detail. Their brilliant colours and magnificent definition are due to Jan’s refinement of the oil-painting technique.
Jan van Eyck was one of the greatest revolutionaries in art. He radically changed the way in which men look at the natural world. His artistic achievements were well-known in Renaissance Italy. Vasari, who wrote about Van Eyck a hundred years later, wrongly attributed the discovery of oil painting to him. Only a few years after his death in 1441, Jan van Eyck was being hailed on both sides of the Alps as one of the greatest painter of the age.
Despite Van Eyck’s great fame, little is known of his life except for his last years. For the last 16 years of his life, he worked at the court of Philip the Good, The Duke of Burgundy. The Duke made use of his skills as both painter and diplomat, sending him on numerous secret missions.
The works of Jan van Eyck are celebrated for their visual splendor and precision of detail. Their brilliant colours and magnificent definition are due to Jan’s refinement of the oil-painting technique and died even before the great High Renaissance master painters were even born.
Jan van Eyck was one of the greatest revolutionaries in art. He radically changed the way in which men look at the natural world. His artistic achievements were well-known in Renaissance Italy. Vasari, who wrote about Van Eyck a hundred years later, wrongly attributed the discovery of oil painting to him. Only a few years after his death in 1441, Jan van Eyck was being hailed on both sides of the Alps as one of the greatest painter of the age.
Despite Van Eyck’s great fame, little is known of his life except for his last years. For the last 16 years of his life, he worked at the court of Philip the Good, The Duke of Burgundy. The Duke made use of his skills as both painter and diplomat, sending him on numerous secret missions.
The works of Jan van Eyck are celebrated for their visual splendor and precision of detail. Their brilliant colours and magnificent definition are due to Jan’s refinement of the oil-painting technique.
Jan van Eyck was one of the greatest revolutionaries in art. He radically changed the way in which men look at the natural world. His artistic achievements were well-known in Renaissance Italy. Vasari, who wrote about Van Eyck a hundred years later, wrongly attributed the discovery of oil painting to him. Only a few years after his death in 1441, Jan van Eyck was being hailed on both sides of the Alps as one of the greatest painter of the age.
Despite Van Eyck’s great fame, little is known of his life except for his last years. For the last 16 years of his life, he worked at the court of Philip the Good, The Duke of Burgundy. The Duke made use of his skills as both painter and diplomat, sending him on numerous secret missions.
The works of Jan van Eyck are celebrated for their visual splendor and precision of detail. Their brilliant colours and magnificent definition are due to Jan’s refinement of the oil-painting technique.
A slideshow connected to a lecture of Northern Renaissance Art available at Art History Teaching Resources (http://arthistoryteachingresources.org/), written by Christina McCollum.
Art History Survey II: 15th &16th Century Art in Northern Europe/Iberian Peni...Paige Prater
A introduction to key artists, regions, religions, and history of the northern Renaissance and Iberian peninsula. Based off of Stokstad's Art History textbook, Volume II, 3rd edition.
A slideshow connected to a lecture of Northern Renaissance Art available at Art History Teaching Resources (http://arthistoryteachingresources.org/), written by Christina McCollum.
Art History Survey II: 15th &16th Century Art in Northern Europe/Iberian Peni...Paige Prater
A introduction to key artists, regions, religions, and history of the northern Renaissance and Iberian peninsula. Based off of Stokstad's Art History textbook, Volume II, 3rd edition.
A sermon from the Narrative Lectionary 1 Kings 12. The story of Rehoboam illustrates how greed and arrogance can destroy a nation. The antidote to this is to become a servant leader.
National Gallery, London - Selected MasterpeicesJerry Daperro
The National Gallery of London is one of the top art gallery for European paintings in the world. Its collection covers all the major developments in European painting from its beginning all the way to the 19C. It also includes paintings from all the major European masters in its collection, from Van Eyck. Leonardo to the Impressionists. There are very few paintings available by the leading Italian and the Low Countries in the world. With the Louvre and the Uffizi of Florence, the National Gallery of London is in the first rank of European gallery. A visit to the National Gallery in London for an afternoon will give you good feel of what European painting is about.
Founded in 1824, the National Gallery is one of the youngest painting galleries of Europe. Unlike most other great European galleries, the core of the collection was not a royal or princely collections taken over by the state. The English Royal collection remains as a separate entity, although many of the royal paintings are on display in the National Gallery on loan. Its collection is renowned for what is probably the most balanced collection of painting in the world. Today the collection has only about two thousand paintings, less than half the number in the Louvre and about two third of the Hermitage collection in St Petersburg.
As the collection belongs to the nation, it is FREE to visit the National Gallery, London. It is opened to the general public and to all overseas visitors as well. It is a shrine for the achievement of humanity, a truly deserve the title a gallery for the world. In this slideshow I have selected six paintings by the best historical masterpieces from its collections. I would like to dedicate this presentation to anyone who help to make the entrance to the gallery free. It is not only a celebration of human achievement it also inclusive all men and enhance the enjoyment of the visit.
big and small, lined and soft, round and angular
of felt or velvet
adorned with fur, embroidery, gorgeous bird feathers, ribbons, stones according to the owner’s fortune
grands et petits, doublés et doux, ronds et angulaires,
en feutre ou en velours,
ornés de fourrure, broderies, plumes d'oiseaux magnifiques, de rubans, pierreries selon la fortune du propriétaire ...
Recognised as the most beautiful woman in the Mediterranean civilisations, hers was the face that launched a thousand ships and inspired the legends ...
Rückenfigur ... back figure in paintings.ppsxguimera
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog is perhaps the most iconic Rückenfigur in German Romantic painting …
Rückenfigur, the back-figure is a pictorial theme with significant power.
Rückenfigur ... back figure in paintings
Rückenfigur ... figure de dos dans la peinture.ppsxguimera
Le Voyageur contemplant une mer de nuages est probablement la Rückenfigur la plus emblématique de la peinture romantique allemande ...
Rückenfigur, la figure de dos est un thème pictural d'une grande puissance.
Has been depicted
in mythological and religious paintings, in still life, vanities, allegories, in the genre painting.
From Caravaggio and Rubens to Millet, through Vermeer, Delacroix, Manet, Moreau …
Panier en osier dans la peinture européenne.ppsxguimera
A été représenté
dans les peintures mythologiques et religieuses, les natures mortes, vanités, allégories, dans la peinture de genre.
Du Caravage et Rubens à Millet, en passant par Vermeer, Delacroix, Manet, Moreau ...
The Art of Rain_The beauty of rain in paintings..ppsxguimera
The beauty of rain in paintings.
expected or feared, delicate or stormy, metaphorical or very real, the rain has often entered the imagination of artists ...
L’art de la pluie_La beauté de la pluie dans la peinture..ppsxguimera
La beauté de la pluie dans la peinture.
espérée ou redoutée, fine ou orageuse, métaphorique ou bien réelle, la pluie s’est souvent invitée dans l’imaginaire des artistes ...
Medea and the beautiful Argonaut,
the first human Cain
Romulus and Remus nursed by the same she-wolf,
Vulcan who loves Venus who loves Mars
Eve and the Apple of the Tree of Temptation
and
the most human of emotions that inspired the painters
La jalousie dans la peinture européenne.ppsxguimera
Médée et le bel Argonaute,
le premier humain Caïn
Romulus et Remus nourris au sein de la même louve,
Vulcain qui aime Vénus qui aime Mars
Ève et la pomme de l'arbre de la tentation
et
la plus humaine des émotions qui a inspiré les peintres
créatures mi-hommes, mi-chevaux, habitant les forêts et les montagnes
violents et sauvages, avec une morale brutale, et un amour immodéré pour le vin et les femmes
2137ad Merindol Colony Interiors where refugee try to build a seemengly norm...luforfor
This are the interiors of the Merindol Colony in 2137ad after the Climate Change Collapse and the Apocalipse Wars. Merindol is a small Colony in the Italian Alps where there are around 4000 humans. The Colony values mainly around meritocracy and selection by effort.
Explore the multifaceted world of Muntadher Saleh, an Iraqi polymath renowned for his expertise in visual art, writing, design, and pharmacy. This SlideShare delves into his innovative contributions across various disciplines, showcasing his unique ability to blend traditional themes with modern aesthetics. Learn about his impactful artworks, thought-provoking literary pieces, and his vision as a Neo-Pop artist dedicated to raising awareness about Iraq's cultural heritage. Discover why Muntadher Saleh is celebrated as "The Last Polymath" and how his multidisciplinary talents continue to inspire and influence.
Hadj Ounis's most notable work is his sculpture titled "Metamorphosis." This piece showcases Ounis's mastery of form and texture, as he seamlessly combines metal and wood to create a dynamic and visually striking composition. The juxtaposition of the two materials creates a sense of tension and harmony, inviting viewers to contemplate the relationship between nature and industry.
2137ad - Characters that live in Merindol and are at the center of main storiesluforfor
Kurgan is a russian expatriate that is secretly in love with Sonia Contado. Henry is a british soldier that took refuge in Merindol Colony in 2137ad. He is the lover of Sonia Contado.
3. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
4. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
The picture represents Giovanni Arnolfini, a
prosperous Italian banker who had settled in Bruges
5. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak
National Gallery, London
6. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
The picture represents Giovanna Cenami, the wife of
Giovanni Arnolfini.
7. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak
National Gallery, London
8. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
Van Eyck's painting of the Arnolfini Marriage is
famous for the circular mirror that hangs on the wall
behind the couple.
The mirror is the focal point of the whole
composition. It has often been noted that two tiny
figures can be seen reflected in it, their image
captured as they cross the threshold of the room.
They are the painter himself and a young man,
perhaps arriving to act as witnesses to the marriage.
The essential point, however, is the fact that the
convex mirror is able to absorb and reflect in a single
image both the floor and the ceiling of the room, as
well as the sky and the garden outside, both of which
are otherwise barely visible through the side window.
The mirror thus acts as a sort of hole in the texture of
space. It sucks the entire visual world into itself,
transforming it into a representation.
It is uncertain that the picture depicts an actual
marriage ceremony. The Lain inscription on the back
wall, 'Jan van Eyck was here/1434', has been
interpreted as the artist's witness to their marriage,
but may simply attest to his authorship of the
painting,his creation of 'here'.
9. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
10. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
11. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
The central motif of the painting, the so-called
'joining of hands', has long been recognized as a
special gesture with a specific meaning. It has been
the subject of debate for decades. There are several
descriptions like 'mutually clasped hands', 'the
woman is holding the man's left hand', 'hands
reaching out towards each other" etc.
The portrayal of the woman's open right palm, facing
the viewer, must have been very important to the
painter, so much so, that he drew the man's left arm
somewhat incorrectly: it is too short and the slightly
upward turning wrist is anatomically incorrect. As an
explanation it is therefore assumed that the open
palm is an allusion to the marriage engagement.
12. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
Despite the restricted space, the painter has
contrived to surround them with a host of symbols.
To the left, the oranges placed on the low table and
the windowsill are a reminder of an original
innocence, of an age before sin. Unless, that is, they
are not in fact oranges but apples (it is difficult to be
certain), in which case they would represent the
temptation of knowledge and the Fall.
13. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
The small dog in the foreground is an emblem of
fidelity and love.
14. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
The clogs and outdoor sandals which the couple
have removed might be typical wedding presents, or
represent the taking of shoes in a sacred precincts.
15. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail)
1434
Oil on oak, 82 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London
The clogs and outdoor sandals which the couple
have removed might be typical wedding presents, or
represent the taking of shoes in a sacred precincts.
16.
17. EYCK, Jan van
The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin
1435
Oil on wood
Musée du Louvre, Paris
18. EYCK, Jan van
The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin (detail)
1435
Oil on wood
Musée du Louvre, Paris
19. EYCK, Jan van
The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin (detail)
1435
Oil on wood
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Van Eyck painted Chancellor Rolin when he was
already in his sixties. His face, though marked by the
heavy responsibilities he has had to bear, still
fascinates the viewer with the sense of energy and
will-power which it projects. Rolin is wearing a gold
brocade jacket trimmed with mink. He kneels at
prayer on the left of the composition. His gaze is
pensive, looking as though he has just raised his
eyes from his book of hours.
20. EYCK, Jan van
The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin (detail)
1435
Oil on wood
Musée du Louvre, Paris
21. EYCK, Jan van
The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin (detail)
1435
Oil on wood
Musée du Louvre, Paris
22. EYCK, Jan van
The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin (detail)
1435
Oil on wood
Musée du Louvre, Paris
On the right, behind the Virgin, are the wealthy
quarters, with a profusion of buildings, dominated by
an imposing Gothic church. Countless tiny figures
are flocking towards this part of town, across the
bridge and through the roads and squares.
Meanwhile on the river, boats are arriving and
putting into shore.
23. EYCK, Jan van
The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin (detail)
1435
Oil on wood
Musée du Louvre, Paris
On the right, behind the Virgin, are the wealthy
quarters, with a profusion of buildings, dominated by
an imposing Gothic church.
24.
25. EYCK, Jan van
The Annunciation
c. 1435
Oil, transferred from wood to canvas, 93 x 37 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington
26. EYCK, Jan van
The Annunciation (detail)
c. 1435
Oil, transferred from wood to canvas, 93 x 37 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington
27. EYCK, Jan van
The Annunciation (detail)
c. 1435
Oil, transferred from wood to canvas, 93 x 37 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington
28. EYCK, Jan van
The Annunciation (detail)
c. 1435
Oil, transferred from wood to canvas, 93 x 37 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington
29. EYCK, Jan van
The Annunciation (detail)
c. 1435
Oil, transferred from wood to canvas, 93 x 37 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington
30. EYCK, Jan van
The Annunciation (detail)
c. 1435
Oil, transferred from wood to canvas, 93 x 37 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington
31. EYCK, Jan van
The Annunciation (detail)
c. 1435
Oil, transferred from wood to canvas, 93 x 37 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington
32. EYCK, Jan van
The Annunciation (detail)
c. 1435
Oil, transferred from wood to canvas, 93 x 37 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington
33.
34. EYCK, Jan van
Madonna in the Church
c. 1425
Oil on wood, 32 x 14 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
35. EYCK, Jan van
Madonna in the Church (detail)
c. 1425
Oil on wood, 32 x 14 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
36. EYCK, Jan van
Madonna in the Church (detail)
c. 1425
Oil on wood, 32 x 14 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
37. EYCK, Jan van
Madonna in the Church (detail)
c. 1425
Oil on wood, 32 x 14 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
38. EYCK, Jan van
Madonna in the Church (detail)
c. 1425
Oil on wood, 32 x 14 cm
Staatliche Museen, Berlin
39. EYCK, Jan van, Featured Paintings in Detail (2)
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40. EYCK, Jan van
Madonna in the Church
The figure of the Madonna, represented in supernatural size standing in the nave of a Gothic church, alludes to the fact that the mother of Christ
has often been described as a 'templum' or 'domus dei' since Christ, during his incarnation, lived in her as in a temple.
The asymmetric composition, unusual at Van Eyck, is explained by the fact that this panel was the left wing of a diptych. The other wing is lost
but contemporary copies prove the correctness of this assumption.
41. EYCK, Jan van
The Annunciation
This Flemish master revolutionized European art by perfecting the technique of oil painting. His meticulous detail, jewel-like transparent colour, and subtle
tonal gradations have never been surpassed. Full of symbolism, elements in this late Gothic church interior symbolize the virginity of Mary, in the white
lilies; the transmission of the Holy Spirit, in the white dove; and the relation between the Old and New Testaments, in the use of pavement stones with Old
Testament scenes which prefigure the coming of Christ, such as David killing Goliath and Samson destroying the Philistine temple.
42. EYCK, Jan van
The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin
The donator of this painting is Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Burgundy and Brabant. He established the Hôtel-Dieu hospital at Beaune where Rogier van der Weyden executed the
famous Last Judgment.
Nicolas Rolin, who commissioned this work, was a man with a forceful personality. Despite his humble background, he was highly intelligent and eventually rose to hold the highest
offices of State. For over forty years he was Philip the Good's right-hand man, and one of the principal architects of the monarch's success. Van Eyck painted him when he was
already in his sixties. His face, though marked by the heavy responsibilities he has had to bear, still fascinates the viewer with the sense of energy and will-power which it projects.
Rolin is wearing a gold brocade jacket trimmed with mink. He kneels at prayer on the left of the composition. His gaze is pensive, looking as though he has just raised his eyes from
his book of hours.
On the right is the seated figure of the Virgin. Wrapped in a voluminous red robe, she is presenting the Infant Jesus to the chancellor while a hovering angel holds a magnificent
crown above her head. The figures have been brought together in the loggia of an Italianate palace. The three arches through which the space opens out behind them seem rather
large in relation to their immediate surroundings. They give first onto a small garden with lilies and roses symbolizing Mary's virtues. Slightly farther back are two small figures, one
standing at an oblique angle to the viewer and the other with his back to us. Near them are two peacocks, symbols of immortality, but perhaps also of the pride to which such a
powerful man as Chancellor Rolin might well succumb.
The most surprising feature in this splendid picture is without doubt the townscape that stretches out beyond the loggia. The crenellated battlements indicate that the palace is in
fact a fortress, built on the edge of an escarpment. Below, a broad meandering river with an island in its midst flows through the heart of a city. The humbler areas of the town lie to
the left, behind Chancellor Rolin. On the right, behind the Virgin, are the wealthy quarters, with a profusion of buildings, dominated by an imposing Gothic church. Countless tiny
figures are flocking towards this part of town, across the bridge and through the roads and squares. Meanwhile on the river, boats are arriving and putting into shore. It is as if all
mankind, united by faith, were travelling in pilgrimage towards this city and its cathedral. In the distance, the horizon is closed off by snow-capped mountains under a pinky-yellow
sky. In the opinion of Charles de Tolnay, this painting represents a comprehensive vision of the entire universe.
43. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife
"The Arnolfini Marriage" is a name that has been given to this untitled double portrait by Jan van Eyck, now in the National Gallery, London. It is one of the greatest celebrations of
human mutuality. Like Rembrandt's "Jewish Bride", this painting reveals to us the inner meaning of a true marriage.
Giovanni Arnolfini, a prosperous Italian banker who had settled in Bruges, and his wife Giovanna Cenami, stand side by side in the bridal chamber, facing towards the viewer. The
husband is holding out his wife's hand.
Despite the restricted space, the painter has contrived to surround them with a host of symbols. To the left, the oranges placed on the low table and the windowsill are a reminder of an
original innocence, of an age before sin. Unless, that is, they are not in fact oranges but apples (it is difficult to be certain), in which case they would represent the temptation of
knowledge and the Fall. Above the couple's heads, the candle that has been left burning in broad daylight on one of the branches of an ornate copper chandelier can be interpreted as
the nuptial flame, or as the eye of God. The small dog in the foreground is an emblem of fidelity and love. Meanwhile, the marriage bed with its bright red curtains evokes the physical
act of love which, according to Christian doctrine, is an essential part of the perfect union of man and wife.
44. EYCK, Jan van
Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife
Although all these different elements are highly charged with meaning, they are of secondary importance compared to the mirror, the focal point of the whole composition. It has often
been noted that two tiny figures can be seen reflected in it, their image captured as they cross the threshold of the room. They are the painter himself and a young man, doubtless arriving
to act as witnesses to the marriage. The essential point, however, is the fact that the convex mirror is able to absorb and reflect in a single image both the floor and the ceiling of the room,
as well as the sky and the garden outside, both of which are otherwise barely visible through the side window. The mirror thus acts as a sort of hole in the texture of space. It sucks the
entire visual world into itself, transforming it into a representation.
The cubic space in which the Arnolfinis stand is itself a prefiguration of the techniques of perspective which were still to come. Van Eyck practised perspective on a purely heuristic basis,
unaware of the laws by which it was governed. In this picture, he uses the mirror precisely in order to explode the limits of the space to which his technique gives him access as soon as it
threatens to limit him.
45. EYCK, Jan van
Jan van Eyck, the most famous and innovative Flemish painter of the 15th century, is thought to have come from
the village of Maaseyck in Limbourg.
No record of his birthdate survives, but it is believed to have been about 1390; his career, however, is well
documented. He was employed at the court of John of Bavaria, count of Holland, at The Hague, and in 1425 he was
made court painter and valet de chambre to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy. He became a close member of the
duke's court and undertook several secret missions for him, including a trip to Spain and Portugal in connection
with negotiations that resulted in the marriage of Philip of Burgundy and Isabella of Portugal. According to
documents, he was buried on July 9, 1441.
Van Eyck's most famous and most controversial work is one of his first, the Ghent altarpiece, a polyptych
consisting of twenty panels in the Church of St. Bavo, Ghent. On the frame is an incomplete inscription in Latin
that identifies the artists of the work as Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The usual interpretation is that Hubert van Eyck
(d. Sept. 18, 1426) was the brother of Jan and that he was the painter who began the altarpiece, which Jan then
completed. Another interpretation is that Hubert was neither Jan's brother nor a painter, but a sculptor who carved
an elaborate frame for the altar. Because of this controversy, attribution of the panels, which vary somewhat in
scale and even in style, has differed, according to the arguments of scholars who have studied the problem.
Equally famous is the wedding portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife, which the artist signed "Johannes de
Eyck fuit hic 1434" (Jan van Eyck was here), testimony that he witnessed the ceremony. Other important paintings
are the Madonna of Chancellor Rolin and the Madonna of Canon van der Paele.