One of the most noteworthy northern European writers of the Renaissance was the Flemish painter, Jan van Eyck. Although there are few records about his early life and rise to prominence, the Van Eyck family was well regarded within the Burgundian Netherlands which allowed historians to surmise that he was born in the 1380s. After years of travelling through various northern courts and gaining esteem, Jan van Eyck painted perhaps his most famous work, The Arnolfini Double Portrait. This work has been the subject of a great deal of critical analysis as a piece of Renaissance art. Some historians have found that the work is demonstrative of artistic and social ideals that were both ahead of its time and touted the line of controversy. However, taking into account the painting’s patronage, symbolism, artistic style, and function, it becomes clear that The Arnolfini Double Portrait is an exemplar of the Renaissance era artistic conventions and is not as difficult to parse as some critics would believe. In order to discuss the painting in its entirety, it is necessary to explore the context of the painting’s creation. The Arnolfini Double Portrait was dated 1434, and was likely completed in the same year. The medium for the painting was oil paint on oak panel, and is one of the few surviving panels from fifteenth century northern Europe. While the identity of the sitters for the painting is still a subject of debate amongst scholars, it is typically accepted that the male subject is Giovanni Arnolfini and the female subject was his wife. After all, Arnolfini was a successful Italian merchant with the means to commission such a painting, and was later used as a sitter for another of Van Eyck’s painting. The general consensus in the ... ... middle of paper ... ...lved Mysteries of the Arnolfini Double Portrait." FluxBoston.org. N.p., 21 Jul 2007. Web. 8 Dec 2013. Hicks, Carola. "Girl in a Green Gown: The History and Mystery of the Arnolfi Portrait.” (2008): Chicago. 47-49. Print Harbison, Craig. Jan van Eyck: The Play of Realism, Second Updated and Expanded Edition. 2nd. New York: Reakition Books, 2012. 1-32. Print. Harbison, Craig. "Sexuality and Social Standing in Arnolfini's Double Portrait". Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 2 (Summer, 1990), pp. 249–291 Nash, Susan. Oxford History of Art: Norther Renaissance Art. 2nd. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 30-65. eBook. Seidel, Linda. "Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait": Business as Usual? Critical Inquiry Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn, 1989), pp. 54-86 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343626
Throughout time, artists have been incorporating hidden messages and meanings in their work. Many of these messages and symbols, when put together, are able to tell the story of what is happening in the scene. In Jan Van Eyck’s painting, Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife, there are many hidden symbols and cryptic messages waiting to be discovered. At first glance, the reader may overlook or not even find any of the symbols or fail to connect small background objects to the main focus of the painting, Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife. Many of these background objects are tucked away and may be interpreted as decorations. However, there is a much greater meaning behind almost every object in the scene. My second impression completely changed
Ruskin, John. “Grotesque Renaissance.” The Stones of Venice: The Fall. 1853. New York: Garland Publishing, 1979. 112-65. Rpt. in Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1989. 21-2.
...Flemish artists such as Jan van Eyck . Joos van Cleve’s tactical placement of objects whether they speak to piety or death are so well chosen because they produce a clear message to the viewer but they also represent the stylistic quality of Northern Renaissance painting.
Lucie-Smith, E. (n.d.). “Lives of the Great 20th-Centry Artists” (excerpt). The Artchive [On-line] 1 Nov 2002. Available: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/modigliani.html
Nygren, B. “Una cosa che non è: perspective and humour in the paintings of Filippo Lippi”, Oxford art journal, vol. 29, no.3 (2006), pp.319-339
In this essay I am going to study two artists, Van Gogh, who today is widely regarded as one of history’s greatest Dutch painters and Scottish painter and print maker, Elizabeth Blackadder.
In stark contrast to the naturalistic, photorealism of “Judith and Holofernes,” O’Keeffe’s painting favors colors over humanity, and darkness over warm lighting. Not to say this takes away from the beauty portrayed in the piece; quite the opposite in fact. The portrait, similar to its title, provides an atmosphere of perplexing mystery and oppressive claustrophobia. While both works feature an underlying theme of horror, “Dark Abstraction” goes about relaying this emotion by employing a far subtler method. O’Keeffe’s painting is nightmarish due to the dreamlike logic featured within the canvas. It’s frightening in a way one cannot express easily. For example, when one awakens from a nightmare, any attempt to decipher the thoughts running through one’s mind and varied emotions enclosed in one’s chest is often met with failure. This is why “Dark Abstraction” perfectly accompanies “Judith and Holofernes”; Gentileschi’s painting is a narrative speaking to one’s eyes, while O’Keeffe’s painting speaks to one’s emotions. Both are equally memorable, however different they appear on first
Jan van Eyck painted Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride. He painted this piece with oil on wood in 1434. The painting was thought to be of a couple taking vows because they are holding hands. The couples clothing provides the audience with the suggestion that the couple is wealthy. The women is wearing a plain necklace. The woman shows an apparent bulge. This bulge could be from a pregnancy or the woman is just holding up her full-skirted dress in the contemporary fashon. The more clothing a person wore the richer they were. In addition, the house suggest that the couple is wealthy. There is a chandelier and room decorations. There is two candles in the chandelier. One is lit while the other is burnt out.
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. N.p., 2014. Print.
Iconography is defined as the study of various subject matters and conventional symbols in works of art (Cothran, Stokstad 1141). In art history, iconography is used to study the interpretation of the artwork such as the composition and the artistic style of the piece. Iconography used regarding the interpretation of Jan van Eyck’s Double Portriat of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife includes the debate as to whether or not the artwork represents a wedding or a double portrait. The piece shows a man and women holding hands and with their shoes off indicating a sacred event is taking place. A single candle is lit on the chandelier representing the presents of God. Through iconography analysis, these details indicate that the artwork is portraying
In the middle of the 15th century Fra Filippo Lippi painted one of the earliest surviving double portraits from the Italian Renaissance. This Portrait of a Woman and Man holds many mysteries, unlike another double portrait by Piero della Francesca painted roughly twenty-five years later. Francesca’s double portrait is titled “Battista Sforza and Federico Da Montefeltro”, which is completely opposite from the vague title given to Fra Filippo Lippi’s painting. Each painting is completed on wood, however Francesca’s is oil, while Lippi’s is tempera.
There is symbolism surrounding The Arnolfini Portrait all around like the oranges, colors, dog, chandelier, mirror, and even the shoes. It is believed that this portrait represents a marriage. My first reaction to seeing the women was that she was pregnant but soon found out that her "pregnant" belly was just a padding to look more attractive to give the idea she can produce children and if you look closer you'll see shes holding a bunch of her fabric. This portrays wealth, youth, and fertility. The color of her dress is green which can represent fertility as well. The dog symbolizes obedience and loyalty to the marriage. In the mirror its been said that the artist, Jan van Eyck is in the reflection with someone else as witnesses to the marriage
O’Donnell, Sr., Joseph J.. “Art and the French Revolution”. The Eerie Digest, May 2013. Web. 5th May 2013.
I cower not at the sight of Man In A Red Turban, witnessing the affect of time upon my flesh and soul; rather feel empowered knowing that I will live a life where nothing is lost upon me, an escapade of new sensations. When time has made me brother of Man In A Red Turban I will look upon his eyes, the very same eyes from my youth, with elation because I shall have lived a life not constrained by borders or by the limits of my spectator rather of free will and engagement. Knowing that time has made me strong and potent while you, the man in the portrait, feed on dust and superstition, I shall find contentment. The absolute subjugation of the weak and faithlessness you are because, man in portrait, if they refuse to believe in you do you even exist? Jan Van Eyck is a master for this. The man in the portrait isn’t real but yet he exist for me, I know this to be so. Why? Eyck’s prowess as an artist, a painter, he has captured reality and bestowed life where once absent—God. The painting shall continue to exist for it’s the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. In doing so, Jan Van Eyck, the portrait and the spectator become one and the palace they inhabit their
The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck is a 1434 oil painting on oak panel. It a full length dual portrait, of the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, in their home in the Flemish city of Bruges. It is one of the most original and intricate paintings in Western art, because of its beauty, and allowance of the picture space with the use of a mirror. His wife is not pregnant but holding up her skirted dress in the present-day fashion.