The Arnolfini Double Portrait Analysis

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One of the most essential northern European writers of the Renaissance was the Flemish painter, Jan van Eyck. Despite the fact that there are few records about his initial life and rise to prominence, the Van Eyck family was all around respected inside the Burgundian Netherlands which permitted history specialists to construe that he was born in the 1380s. Following quite a while of going through different northern courts, Jan van Eyck painted perhaps his most popular work, The Arnolfini Double Portrait. Van Eyck painted during the Northern Renaissance, a time of extraordinary thriving for Burgundy (current Belgium and the Netherlands). Burgundy's area made it perfect as a center for exchange and banking. This flourishing expanded the abundance …show more content…

It frames a full-length double representation, believed and accepted to portray the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, apparently in their home in the Flemish city of Bruges. It is believed that this painting was created to commemorate Arnolfini’s wedding. The depth of the painting is isolated into three layers, a foreground, which includes a dog and a pair of sandals; a center ground which includes the two main subjects of the painting; and foundation, which contains the rest of the items in the painting. The painting is symmetrical and the vanishing point is not a long way from the focal point of the artwork along the level. The painting is filled with symbolism and things intended to depict the subjects' recognized way of …show more content…

His wife was definitely not a virgin because white symbolizes pureness and not green. Arnolfini is holding his wife’s hand which symbolizes the love he has for her. The painting suggests that it is daytime and summertime because of the sunlight through the window and fresh oranges on the table. The candle symbolizes the union candle or could even represent the presence of god. In the renaissance culture, the devotional candle represented God’s all-seeing knowledge. Arnolfini and his wife are not wearing any shoes. This symbolizes the floor is considered holy ground or the sanctity of marriage. The painting of the mirror has a reflection of the other people in the room which can represent the people present for this

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