arnolfini portrait

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Arnolfini PortraitFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Arnolfini Portrait

Artist Jan van Eyck

Year 1434

Type Oilonoakpanel of 3 vertical boards

Dimensions 82.2 cm 60 cm 32.4 in 23.6 in!"

panel 84.# cm 62.# cm 33.3 in 24.6 in!

Location $ational %allery&'ondon

The Arnolfini Portraitis an oil painting onoakpaneldated 1434 by the Early Netherlandish painterJanvan Eyck. t is also kno!n as The Arnolfini Wedding, The Arnolfini Marriage, The Arnolfini DoublePortraitor the Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife, among other titles. "he painting is a smallf#ll$length do#ble portrait, !hich is believed to represent the talian merchant %iovanni di Nicolao

&rnolfiniand possibly his !ife,'1(pres#mably in their home in the Flemishcity of )r#ges.t is consideredone of the more original and comple* paintings in Western art beca#se of the iconography,'+(the #n#s#algeometric orthogonalperspective,'3(the #se of the mirror to reflect the space,'4('(and that the portrait is
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considered #ni-#e by some art historians as the record of a marriage contract in the form of a painting.'(&ccording to Ernst %ombrich/in its o!n !ay it !as as ne! and revol#tionary as 0onatellosor 2asaccios !ork in taly. & simple corner of the real !orld had s#ddenly been fi*ed on to a panel as ifby magic ... For the first time in history the artist became the perfect eye$!itness in the tr#est sense ofthe term/.'(igned and dated by van Eyck in 1434, it is, !ith theGhent Altarpieceby the same artist andhis brother5#bert, the oldest very famo#s panel painting to have been e*ec#ted in oilsrather thanin tempera. "he painting !as bo#ght by the National %alleryin 6ondon in 174+.

8an Eyck #sed the techni-#e of applying layer after layer of thin transl#cent gla9es to create a painting!ith an intensity of both tone and colo#r. "he glo!ing colo#rs also help to highlight the realism, and tosho! the material !ealth and op#lence of &rnolfinis !orld. 8an Eyck took advantage of the longerdrying time of oil paint, compared to tempera, to blend colo#rs by painting!et$in$!etto achieve s#btlevariations in light and shade to heighten the ill#sion of three$dimensional forms. "he medi#m of oil paintalso permitted van Eyck to capt#re s#rface appearance and disting#ish te*t#res precisely. 5e alsorendered the effects of both direct and diff#se light by sho!ing the light from the !indo! on the leftreflected by vario#s s#rfaces. t has been s#ggested that he #sed a magnifying glass in order to paintthe min#te details s#ch as the individ#al highlights on each of the amber beads hanging beside themirror.

"he ill#sionismof the painting !as remarkable for its time, in part for the rendering of detail, b#tpartic#larly for the #se of light to evoke space in an interior, for /its #tterly convincing depiction of a

room, as !ell of the people !ho inhabit it/.'7(Whatever meaning is given to the scene and its details, andthere has been m#ch debate on this, according to:raig 5arbisonthe painting /is the only fifteenth$cent#ry Northern panel to s#rvive in !hich the artists contemporaries are sho!n engaged in some sortof action in a contemporary interior. t is indeed tempting to call this the first genre painting; a paintingof everyday life ; of modern times/.'


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Description'edit(

0etail sho!ing the male s#b=ect, probably %iovanni di Nicolao &rnolfini

"he painting is generally in very good condition, tho#gh !ith small losses of original paint and damages,!hich have mostly been reto#ched.nfraredreflectograms of the painting sho! many small alterations,

or pentimenti, in the #nderdra!ingA to both faces, to the mirror, and to other elements. '1B("he co#ple aresho!n in an #pstairs room !ith a chest and a bed in it d#ring early s#mmer as indicated by the fr#it onthecherry treeo#tside the !indo!. "he room probably f#nctioned as a reception room, as it !as thefashion in France and )#rg#ndy!here beds in reception rooms !ere #sed as seating, e*cept, fore*ample, !hen a mother !ith a ne! baby received visitors. "he !indo! has si* interior !oodensh#tters, b#t only the top opening has glass, !ith clear b#lls$eye pieces set in bl#e, red and greenstained glass.'1B(

"he t!o fig#res are very richly dressedC despite the season both their o#ter garments, his tabardandher dress, are trimmed and f#lly lined !ith f#r. "he f#rs may be the especially e*pensive sablefor himandermineor miniverfor her. 5e !ears a hat of plaited stra!dyed black, as often !orn in the s#mmerat the time. 5is tabard !as more p#rple than it appears no! Das the pigments have faded over time andmay be intended to be silk velvet Danother very e*pensive item. nderneath he !ears a do#blet of

patterned material, probably silk damask. 5er dress has elaborate daggingDcloth folded and se!ntogether, then c#t and frayed decoratively on the sleeves, and a long train. 5er bl#e #nderdress is alsotrimmed !ith !hite f#r.'1B(

&ltho#gh the !omans plain gold necklace and the rings that both !ear are the only =e!ellery visible,both o#tfits !o#ld have been enormo#sly e*pensive, and appreciated as s#ch by a contemporaryvie!er. "here may be an element of restraint in their clothes Despecially the man befitting theirmerchant stat#s ; portraits of aristocrats tend to sho! gold chains and more decorated cloth, '1B(altho#gh/the restrained colo#rs of the mans clothing correspond to those favo#red by 0#ke ?hillip of )#rg#ndy/.'11(

0etail sho!ing the female s#b=ect and conve* mirror
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"he interior of the room has other signs of !ealthC the brass chandelieris large and elaborate bycontemporary standards, and !o#ld have been very e*pensive. t !o#ld probably have had amechanism !ith p#lleyand chains above, to lo!er it for managing the candles Dpossibly omitted fromthe painting for lack of room. "he conve* mirrorat the back, in a !ooden frame !ith scenes of "he?assionpainted behind glass, is sho!n larger than s#ch mirrors co#ld act#ally be made at this date ;another discreet depart#re from realism by van Eyck. "here is also no sign of a fireplace Dincl#ding inthe mirror, nor any!here obvio#s to p#t one. Even the orangescas#ally placed to the left are a sign of

!ealthC they !ere very e*pensive in )#rg#ndy, and may have been one of the items dealt in by &rnolfini.F#rther signs of l#*#ry are the elaborate bed$hangings and the carvings on the chair and bench againstthe back !all Dto the right, partly hidden by the bed, also the small>riental carpeton the floor by thebedC many o!ners of s#ch e*pensive ob=ects placed them on tables, as they still do in the Netherlands.'1B('11(

"he vie! in the mirror sho!s t!o fig#res =#st inside the door that the co#ple are facing. "he secondfig#re, !earing red, is pres#mably the artist altho#gh, #nlike 8elG9-#e9in 6as 2eninas,he does notseem to be painting. cholars have made this ass#mption based on the appearance of fig#res !earingred head$dresses in some other van Eyck !orks De.g., the?ortrait of a 2an Delf ?ortraitHand thefig#re in the backgro#nd of the 2adonna !ith :hancellor @olin. "he dog is an early form of the breedno! kno!n as the )r#ssels griffon.'1B(

"he painting is signed, inscribed and dated on the !all above the mirrorA /Johannes de eyck fuit hic

1434/ D/Jan van Eyck !as here 1434/. "he inscription looks as if it !ere painted in large letters on the!all, as !as done !ith proverbs and other phrases at this period. >ther s#rviving van Eyck signat#resare painted intrompe loeilon the !ooden frame of his paintings, so that they appear to have beencarved in the !ood.'1B('1+(

Identity of subjects'edit(

Jan van Eyck, Portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini.%emIldegalerie, )erlin

n their book p#blished in 17, :ro!eand :avalcaselle!ere the first to link the do#ble portrait !ith the

early 1th cent#ry inventories of 2argaret of stria. "hey s#ggested that the painting sho!ed portraitsof %iovanni 'di &rrigo( &rnolfini and his !ife.'13(Fo#r years laterJames Wealep#blished a book in !hichhe agreed !ith this analysis and identified %iovannis !ife as Jeanne Dor %iovanna :enami. '14(For thene*t cent#ry most art historians accepted that the painting !as a do#ble portrait of %iovanni di &rrigo

&rnolfini and his !ife Jeanne :enami b#t a chance discovery in 1


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painting partly an #n#s#al memorial portrait, sho!ing one living and one dead person. )oth %iovanni di&rrigo and %iovanni di Nicolao &rnolfini !ere talian merchants, originally from 6#cca, b#t residentin )r#gessince at least 141


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Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434DJan van Eyck !as here. 1434.

Jan )aptist )eda#* agrees some!hat !ith ?anofsky that this is a marriage contract portrait in his 1


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position of a#thority, !hilst she has her hand in a lo!er, hori9ontal, more s#bmissive pose. 5o!ever, herga9e at her h#sband can also sho! her e-#ality to him beca#se she is not looking do!n at the floor aslo!er class !omen !o#ld. "hey are part of the )#rg#ndian co#rt life and in that system she is his e-#al,not his s#bordinate.'+(

0etail sho!ing the co#ple =oined hands.

"he symbolism behind the action of the co#ples =oined hands has also been debated among scholars.2any point to this gest#re as proof of the paintings p#rpose. s it a marriage contract or somethingelseH ?anofsky interprets the gest#re as an act of fides, 6atin for /marital oath/. 5e calls therepresentation of the co#ple /ui desponsari vide(antur per fide)/ !hich means, /!ho !ere contractingtheir marriage by marital oath/. '+7("he man is grasping the !omans right hand !ith his left !hich is thebasis for the controversy. ome scholars like Jan )aptist )eda#* and ?eter chabacker arg#e that ifthis painting does sho! a marriage ceremony, then the #se of the left hand points to the marriagebeing morganaticand notclandestine. & marriage is said to be morganatic if a man marries a !oman of#ne-#al rank.'+


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Mirror'edit(

0etail of theconve* mirror

"he small medallions set into the frame of the conve* mirrorat the back of the room sho! tiny scenesfrom the?assion of :hristand may represent %ods promise of salvation for the fig#res reflected on themirrors conve* s#rface. F#rthering the 2emorial theory, all the scenes on the !ifes side are of :hristsdeath and res#rrection. "hose on the h#sbands side concern :hrists life. "he mirror itself mayrepresent the eye of %od observing the vo!s of the !edding. & spotless mirror !as also an established

symbol of 2ary, referring to the 5oly 8irgins immac#late conceptionand p#rity.'3(

"he mirror reflects t!ofig#res in the door!ay, one of !hom may be the painter himself. n ?anofskys controversial vie!, thefig#res are sho!n to prove that the t!o !itnesses re-#ired to make a !edding legal !ere present, and8an Eycks signat#re on the !all acts as some form of act#al doc#mentation of an event at !hich he!as himself present.

&ccording to one a#thor /"he painting is often referenced for its immac#late depiction of non$E#clideangeometry/,'3


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the candle may all#de to the presence of the 5oly %host or the ever$present eye of %od. &lternatively,2argaret osters posits that the painting is a memorial portrait, the single lit candle on %iovannis sidecontrasts !ith the b#rnt$o#t candle !hose !a* st#b can =#st be seen on his !ifes side. n a metaphorcommonly #sed in literat#reC he lives on, she is dead.'44(

"he cherries present on the tree o#tside the !indo! may symboli9e love."he oranges !hich lie on the!indo! sill and chest may symboli9e the p#rity and innocence that reigned in the %arden of Edenbefore the Fall of 2an.'3("hey !ere #ncommon and a sign of !ealth in the Netherlands, b#t in taly!ere

a symbol of fec#ndityin marriage.'4("he fr#it co#ld more simply be a sign of the co#ples !ealth sinceoranges !ere very e*pensive imports. t co#ld be a sign of fertility as !ell. '4(

Provenance'edit(

0iego de %#evara,!ho gave the painting to the 5absb#rgs, by 2ichael itto!, ca. 11

"he kno!nprovenanceof the painting is that in 1434 it !as dated by van Eyck and pres#mably o!nedby the sitters. &t some #ndetermined point before 11 it came into the possession of 0on0iego de%#evaraDd.)r#ssels1+B, a panish career co#rtier of the 5absb#rgs Dhimself the s#b=ect of a fineportrait by 2ichael itto!in the National %allery of &rt. 5e lived most of his life in the Netherlands, andmay have kno!n the &rnolfinis in their later years. '4(

)y 11 he had given the portrait to2argaret of stria, 5absb#rg @egent of the Netherlands, !hen itsho!s #p as the first item in an inventory of her paintings, made in her presence at2echelen."he itemsays Din FrenchA /a large pict#re !hich is called 5erno#l le Fin !ith his !ife in a chamber, !hich !asgiven to 2adame by 0on 0iego, !hose arms are on the cover of the said pict#reC done by the painterJohannes./ & note in the margin says /t is necessary to p#t on a lock to close itA !hich 2adame hasordered to be done./ n a 1+3;4 2echelen inventory, a similar description is given, altho#gh this time

the name of the s#b=ect is given as /&rno#lt Fin/.'4(

n 13B the painting !as inherited by 2argarets niece 2ary of 5#ngary, !ho in 1 !ent to live inpain. t is clearly described in an inventory taken after her death in 17, !hen it !as inheritedby ?hilip of pain. & painting of t!o of his yo#ng da#ghters, /nfantas sabella :lara E#genia and:atalina 2icaela of pain/D?rado, commissioned by ?hilip clearly copies the pose of the fig#res. n1vidpainted onthe frameA /ee that yo# promiseA !hat harm is there in promisesH n promises anyone can be rich./ t isvery likely that 8elG9-#e9 kne! the painting, !hich may have infl#enced his $as eninas, !hich sho!sa room in the same palace.'4(
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n 1BB the painting appeared in an inventory after the death of :arlos .t !as still in the palace, !ithsh#tters and the verses from >vid, and by 1


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Giovanni di Nicolao ArnolfiniDc. 14BB ; after 14+ !as amerchantfrom 6#cca, a city

in "#scany, taly, !ho spent most of his life in Flanders, then part of the0#chy of )#rg#ndy, probably

al!ays based in )r#ges, a !ealthy trading city and one of the main to!ns of the )#rg#ndian co#rt.

"he &rnolfini !ere a po!erf#l family in 6#cca, involved in the politics and trade of the small b#t !ealthy

city, !hich specialised Dlike Florence in !eaving e*pensive cloth.

%iovanni, called here di Nicolaoor /son of Nicolao/ to disting#ish him from his co#sin Giovanni di Arrigo

ArnolfiniDsee belo!, moved to )r#ges in Flanders at an early age to !ork in the family b#siness and

lived there for the rest of his life. 5e became !ealthy trading in silkand otherfabrics,tapestriesand

other precio#s ob=ects, altho#gh in later years he seems to have s#ffered b#siness reverses, and to

have retired from trading. 5is fame arises beca#se he is the most likely candidate, o#t of a n#mber of

male &rnolfinis, to have been the s#b=ect of t!o portraits byJan van Eyck, the famo#s Flemish painter.

"hese areA +he Arnolfini Portraitof %iovanni and his !ife, dated 1434 and no! in 6ondon, and another

portrait, evidently of the same sitter !hen slightly older, no! in )erlin Dbelo!.

5e !as pres#mably born in ?amplona, !here his parents lived, b#t neither the place nor the date are

doc#mented. 5e !as sent to )r#ges !hilst still technically a child, as the first record of him is a letter

from his father Nicolao in 6#cca to his agent in )r#ges in 141< empo!ering the agent to /emancipate/

%iovanni $ that is, to declare him ad#lt. ince there !as no fi*ed age for this, it gives no real cl#e as to

his date of birth.

n the ne*t fe! years %iovanni di Nicolao !orked !ith a very s#ccessf#l talian merchant, 2arco

%#idiccioni, another 6#cchese !ho !as connected to him by marriage. @ecords of some of his dealings

!ith the 0#cal co#rt have s#rvived, b#t these !ere probably only part of his b#siness activities. n 14++

he tried to sell a val#able gold collar to ing5enry 8 of England, and 14+3 he sold 0#ke ?hillip the

%oodsi* tapestries of scenes from the life of the 8irgin,!hich the 0#ke gave to the ?ope. >ther sales

to the :o#rt are recorded, altho#gh he may have been acting on behalf of %#idiccioni.

n 14+ he married :ostan9a "renta, !ho is at first sight not the !ife in the portrait, as a letter by her

mother of Febr#ary +, 1433 mentions that she had died. he !as also from 6#cca, and her a#nt

%inevra :avalcanti !as married to6oren9o de 2edici,brother of :osimo de 2edici. >n the other hand,

2argaret oster has recently proposed that the do#ble portrait may be a memorial one, incl#ding an

image of :ostan9a, b#t painted a year after her death.

n 144+ he signed an agreement !hereby, for a moderate fee, he became a b#rgessof )r#ges after

promising not to trade as a merchant. 5e !as permitted to practise /the small b#rgesss crafts/, b#t

!hether he ever did is #nkno!n. n 144 and 14+ he is doc#mented as an arbitrator in disp#tes

bet!een other 6#cchese merchants Din 144 incl#ding his co#sin %iovanni over propertyC these are his

last appearances in the doc#mentary record. "he do#ble portrait remained in Flanders Dsee the?rovenance section in that article, !hich s#ggests that %iovanni died there.

"here is no doc#mentary evidence of a f#rther marriage, b#t one has been ass#med by art historiansC it

is not at all impla#sible that s#ch a marriage !o#ld be #ndoc#mented. "he appearance of the !oman in

the do#ble portrait perhaps s#ggests she !as Flemish, rather than talian. 'citation needed(

& slightly yo#nger first co#sin of %iovanni, called Giovanni de Arrigo Arnolfini, Dor /Jehan &rno#lphin

le =e#ne/ by the )#rg#ndian acco#ntants also came to live in )r#ges and !as even more s#ccessf#l
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luccahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscanyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabricshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabricshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabricshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapestrieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_van_Eyckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_van_Eyckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arnolfini_Portraithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_V_of_Englandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_V_of_Englandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_III,_Duke_of_Burgundyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_III,_Duke_of_Burgundyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_the_Virginhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_the_Virginhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_the_Elderhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_the_Elderhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_the_Elderhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosimo_de'_Medicihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgess_(title)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchanthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luccahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuscanyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flandershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Burgundyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabricshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapestrieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_van_Eyckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Arnolfini_Portraithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_V_of_Englandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_III,_Duke_of_Burgundyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_III,_Duke_of_Burgundyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_the_Virginhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_the_Elderhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosimo_de'_Medicihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgess_(title)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed


12/12

than %iovanni de Nicolao. %iovanni de &rrigo &rnolfini married, and !as s#rvived by, %iovanna

DJeanne :enami, and they !ere the co#ple tho#ght to be the sho!n in the &rnolfini ?ortrait from 171

#ntil 1

arnolfini portrait

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