The Details and Techniques of the Paintings of Jan van Eyck and Hans Memlinc

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Recommended: Make a comparative analysis of these two paintings

The two painters Jan Van Eyck (c.1390-1441) and Hans Memlinc (d.1494) are both considered great masters of Northern Art. Van Eyck is known for his execution of naturalistic detail and creating translucency in his panels. Memlinc is known for his financially minded cornucopia of work and for revolutionising the genre of portraiture. However, their differences are more pointed than there similarities. Both artists are mindful of the traditions of the Flemish school, such a the use of light to create a sense of the third dimension on the panel and the importance of landscape and background. Both artists worked in Bruges at some point; Van Eyck was an earlier master who moved to Bruges in 1430 until his death. Memlinc was German but settled there in 1465 until his death. The paintings by Van Eyck that shall be discussed are The Ghent Altarpiece, Madonna with Chancellor Rolin, Portrait of a Man and The Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife. The paintings by Memlinc that will be discussed are The Diptych of Maarten Nieuwenhove, Portrait of a Young Man Before a Landscape and The Donne Altarpiece.

The landscape in Madonna with Chancellor Rolin (1436) (pl. 1) shows Van Eyck’s exquisite eye for detail. The battlements of the palace suggest that it is a fortress, built of the edge of an escarpment. The background is a perfectly formed Medieval city divided by river (pl. 2). Symbolically, the Virgin is seated on the grandiose side of town. On the right hand side there are Gothic buildings, and a cathedral which city dwellers are flocking to, suggesting a mass pilgrimage of faith to the Virgin. The accuracy of the background city have led to many attempts to identify it, with connotations of Bruges. However, it is most like...

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... of colour and shadow over the opaque vermillion base, rather than several layers of translucent glaze. While Van Eyck pioneered the use of oil paints, Memlinc explored how to use oils economically and efficiently, whist never sacrificing painterly depth in a panel.

The works of Van Eyck and Memlinc as they both share the intention of the Flemish school, in particular in devotional paintings. They differ in innovation of other secular fields such as technique and portraiture. While this essay has not been able to focus in detail in all areas of the two artists work - such as narrative religious paintings and the authorship and signing of artworks - it aimed to focus on the polarisations of both artists; where they branched away from the Flemish school, or embraced its traditions, intending to show the overarching innovations of the Northern Renaissance.

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