Jan Van EyckThe Arnolfini Portrait

Artology is a magazine that mixes modern imagery with the piece of work that is up for discussion, to create connections and topromote education for a new generation of learners.

This issue will focus on the works of Jan Van Eyck and the analysis of his work The Arnolfini Portait. To better understand the relavance of the imagery found in this work, I havejuxtaposed modern images that draw stong connections to the over 500 year old painting. These images are meant to evoke thoughts and insipire conversations.

Picturepaint a

[it will last longer]

Portraitists create their work by commission, for public and private persons, or are inspired by ad-miration or affection for the subject. Portraits are often important state and family records, as well as remembrances. Historically, portrait paintings have primarily memorialized the rich and power-ful. Over time, however, it became more common for middle-class patrons to commission portraits oftheir families and colleagues.

Portraiture

Portrait of a Man in a Turban Possibly a self-portrait of Jan Van Eyck

Portraiture seems to be a way the rich and powerful flaunt their riches and sopstacation.Currently we can just pick up a fashion magazine with a celebrity on the front cover and uncover the same information. The role has reversed, it is not the people who wish to display their success publically, it is the public who seek the information.

wedding, it’sthis isn’t your typical

1434

It is believed that the subject is Giovanni di Arrigo's cousin Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife. This is either an undocumented second wife, or, according to a recent pro-posal, his first wife Costanza Trenta, who had died by Febru-ary 1433. This would make the painting partly a memorial portrait, showing one living and one dead person. Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini was an Italian merchant, originally from Lucca, but resident in Bruges since at least 1419. He is the subject of a further portrait by Van Eyck in Berlin, lead-ing to speculation he was a friend of the artist.

Some Art Historians say:

Busted: According to records, Giovanni was having an extra-marital affair. In 1470, thus late in Giovanni’s life, a woman took him to court to have returned to her jewelry he had given her. She also sought a pension and several houses that she had been promised.

[this isn’t a fairytale] Ever After?

Happily

Bruges was the cradle of Flemish art during the rule of the Burgundian dukes in Flanders. Jan van Eyck, Gerard David, and many other masters are richly represented in the churches, public buildings, and museums of the city.

Among its noted structures are the Hospital of St. John ,containing several masterpieces by Hans Memling; the 13th-century market hall or cloth-workers hall, with its famous carillon; the city hall; the Church of Notre Dame, with the tombs of Charles the Bold and Mary of Burgundy and with Michelangelo’s Virgin; the Cathedral of St. Salvator; and the Chapel of the Precious Blood, a major site of pilgrimage.

BrugesThe capital and largest city of the prov-ince of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country.

Sartorialist,notify the

we have style on our hands

Inspiration for fashion can be found in any era of art.Fashion designers use ideas from the past and infuse them with modern fabrics and functional fashion.

PlaitedStraw

hatGiovanni di Nicolao wears a hat of plaited straw dyed black, as often worn in the summer at the time. Straw plaiting, which is a method of manufacturing textiles by braiding straw and the industry that surrounds the craft of producingthese straw manufactures, is very labor intensive and expensive. The hats of today are linked to specific professions or jobs, originally designed for function; these hats have become fashion accessories.

Inspiration for fashion can be found in any era of art.Fashion designers use ideas from the past and infuse them with modern fabrics and functional fashion.

What do these hats say about the person who wears them?

Balmoral Baseball cap Batting helmet Beanie Beret Bobble hat Boonie hat Borsalino Bucket hat Capuchon Chupalla Cloche hat Cricket cap Peaked cap Cowboy hat Engineer’s cap Fedora Fiddler’s cap Fitted cap Flat cap Flip hat Fruit hat Garrison cap Greek fisherman’s cap Ivy cap Karakul Kepi Kofia Kufi Muir cap Nasaq Nightcap Newsboy cap Pakol Rogatywka Salakot Skullcap Ski hat Sombrero Student cap Suma cap Topi Tubeteika Tuque Sock cap Stocking cap Watch cap Toboggan Ski cap Skull Capturban Yarmulke Kippa Kippah Welder’s cap Vueltiao Yachting cap Zucchetto Zulu crown

What do these hats say about the person who wears them?

Balmoral Baseball cap Batting helmet Beanie Beret Bobble hat Boonie hat Borsalino Bucket hat Capuchon Chupalla Cloche hat Cricket cap Peaked cap Cowboy hat Engineer’s cap Fedora Fiddler’s cap Fitted cap Flat cap Flip hat Fruit hat Garrison cap Greek fisherman’s cap Ivy cap Karakul Kepi Kofia Kufi Muir cap Nasaq Nightcap Newsboy cap Pakol Rogatywka Salakot Skullcap Ski hat Sombrero Student cap Suma cap Topi Tubeteika Tuque Sock cap Stocking cap Watch cap Toboggan Ski cap Skull Capturban Yarmulke Kippa Kippah Welder’s cap Vueltiao Yachting cap Zucchetto Zulu crown

Sablethe

coatGiovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini is richly dressed in his fur

tabard. The fur is are especially expensive sable. Jan Van Eyck painted the tabard in once rather more purple than it

appears now, as the pigments have faded. Underneath he wears a doublet of patterned silk damask. In present fashion fur is still used as a luxe fabric, but mostly for the lining of ourterwear. Used as

insulation the sable fur provides the feeling of luxury to any modern man.

the

coat

Despite the Spring season, Mr. Arnolofini chooses to dawn himself in fur. An entry in the Bruges Archives for July 1st of that year records that Giovanni made a large sale of silks and hats. He displays his fashion of fortune in this wedding portrait.

Mr.Style:Dear

I recieved a full length fur coat this year as a gift. As a man, is it still acceptable to wear fur?

If you embarrass easily, maybe you shouldn’t wear fur. Fabric such as: wool and cashmere are much more practical ways of staying warm during the winter months. Some people will use fur as a status symbol, which is not necassary in the modern day. Men can use tailored suits and well made clothing with quality fabrics to show his wealth. Save the fur for the Pimps and Eskimos.

Despite popular belief, Giovanna Cenami is not with child. This portrait was painted with elments to bring good luck to the newlyweds.The green of the woman’s dress symbolizes hope, possible the hope ofbecoming a mother. Her white cap signifies purity. The fullness of the dress in the front is believed to be the fashion of the dresses that were being worn during this time period in the Netherlands.

linesor one?

two

color palette

Daggeddress

Giovanna Cenami is wearing a cloth folded and sewn together, then cut and frayed decoratively. Her blue underdress is also trimmed with white sable fur.

Giovanna Cenami is wearing the 15th century colors of purity with her white cap and hope with her green dress. While the shades of red and green compliment each other the blue remains an analogous color to the green. Worn by rich nobility, the color of this bright red tone symbolizes power. Blue illustrates the power and presence of life in this vast world.

lavishly

What kind of sewing techniques have been inspired form this dress?

Rouching is a detail created by taking fabric and sewing in lines of elastic to the back in neat rows so the fabric puckers, creating a stretchy, gathered look. Pintucking is a tuck is a fold or pleat in fabric that is sewn in place; Narrow, sewn-down pleats, usually on the front of a garment, usually appearing in a series. Pleating is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. Ruffles is a strip of fabric, lace or ribbon tightly gathered or pleated on one edge and applied to a garment, bedding, or other textile as a form of trimming.

What kind of sewing techniques have been inspired form this dress?

Rouching is a detail created by taking fabric and sewing in lines of elastic to the back in neat rows so the fabric puckers, creating a stretchy, gathered look. Pintucking is a tuck is a fold or pleat in fabric that is sewn in place; Narrow, sewn-down pleats, usually on the front of a garment, usually appearing in a series. Pleating is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. Ruffles is a strip of fabric, lace or ribbon tightly gathered or pleated on one edge and applied to a garment, bedding, or other textile as a form of trimming.

Convex Mirror

knick knacksthese aren’t just

The mirror is painted with almost miraculousskill. Its carved frameis inset with ten miniature medallions depicting scenes from the life of Christ. Yet more remarkable is the mirror’s reflection, which includes Van Eyck’s own tiny self-portrait, accompanied by another man who may have been the official witness to the ceremony.

The mirror itself may represent the eye of God observing the vows of the wedding. A spotless mirror was also an established symbol of Mary, referring to the Holy Virgin’s immaculate conception and purity.

The solitary flame burning in bright daylight can be interpreted as the bridal candle, orGod’s all-seeing eye, or simply as a devotional candle.What happens when in modern day,we cover the candles with shades, or replace them with light bulbs?

it’s me,Are you there God,

Jan

it’s me,Are you there God,

Jan

with this dog

i thee wed The companion dog is seen as a symbol of faithfulness and love. Teh dog is an early form of the breed now known as the Brussels Griffon. This dog is named for the city of their orgin, Brussels, Belgium. How did we go from dogs to diamond rings?

Orange you glad

i didn’t saybanana?

FruitsThe fruits on the window ledge probably stand for fertility and our fall from Paradise. The oranges which lie on the window sill and chest may symbolize the purity and innocence

They were uncommon and a sign of wealth in the Netherlands, but in Italy were a symbol of fecundity in marriage.

Maybe this is why is found to be erotic when women eat fruit. What do you think it means when we cover the fruit in chocolate?

Orange you glad

InstinctsMotherly

Van Eyck is following a conventionin late Gothic art of exaggerating in female figures the child-bearing part of the body. In real life, Giovanni lived until 1470 and Giovanna lived until 1480, but they had no children. The postition ofGiovanna Cenami head and body shape implies the shape of the womb.

Much like a modern day logo, the artist applied his signature to his work, to add personalation and ownership. In this case, if this is a marriage certifcate, then the signature acts as a witness to cermony. In the Arnolfini portrait, Van Eyck places his signature below the mirror. He adds “was here” underneath his name..

elaborateSignature

your localCheck these books our at

library

Jan Van Eyck

Jan Van Eyck: Renaissance Realist (Basic Art) by Till-Holger Borchert

Jan van Eyck: The Play of Realism by Craig Harbison

The Wedding: An Encounter with Jan van Eyck (Art Encounters) by Elizabeth M. Rees

Van Eyck by Harold van de Perre, Jan van Eyck, and Hubert van EyckVan Eyck (Chaucer Art) (Chaucer Library of Art) by Amanda Tomlinson

The Flemish Primitives: The Masterpieces by Dirk de Vos

Inventing van Eyck: The Remaking of an Art-ist for the Modern AgeThe Marian paintings of Jan van Eyck by Carol J. Purtle 1939

All the paintings of Jan van Eyck by Jan van Eyck 1390-1440 Valentin Denis

Investigating Jan van Eyck by Jan van Eyck 1390-1440.; Susan Foister 1954-; Delphine Cool; National Gallery (Great Britain)

Van Eyck : and the founders of early Nether-landish painting by Otto Pächt 1902- Maria Schmidt-Dengler

15th century

The Woodcut in Fifteenth-Century Eu-rope (Studies in the History of Art Series) by Professor Peter Parshall

15th Century Paintings (TASCHEN Icons Series) by Angelika Taschen, Rose-Marie Hagen, and Rainer Hagen

Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century: Structure of Everyday Life v.1 (Civilisation & capitalism: 15th-18th century) (Vol 1) by Fernand Braudel

The Good King: Rene of Anjou and 15th Century Europe by Margaret L. Kekewich

Jan van Eyck : The play of Realismby Craig Harbison

Hubert and Jan Van Eyck by Elisabeth Dhanens

The Ghent altarpiece and the art of Jan van Eyck by Lotte Brand Phili

Early Netherlandish drawings from Jan van Eyck to Hieronymus Bosch by Fritz

library

Netherlands

The Colony of New Netherland: A Dutch Settlement in Seventeenth-Century America by Jaap Jacobs

History of the Low Countries by J. C. H. Blom

The History of Holland (The Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nations) by Mark T. Hooker

Oil Painting

Portrait Painting Atelier: Old Master Tech-niques and Contemporary Applications by Suzanne Brooker and Domenic Cretara

How to Paint Like the Old Masters by Joseph Sheppard

A Text Book of the History of Painting by John Charles van Dyke

Portraiture

-Portraiture: Facing the Subject (Critical Intro-ductions to Art) by Joanna WoodallEvery Picture Tells a Story by James Bluemel, Mike Lemar, Dave Thomas, and Helen Slinger-Van Dyck: Paintings and Drawings (Monographs) by James Lawson and Anthony Van Dyck-Jan Van Eyck’s Arnolfini portrait : stories of an icon by Linda Seidel

Flemish Art

-Flemish primitives : Jan van Eyck, the Master of Flémalle, Dirk Bouts, van der Weyden, Memling, van der Goes, Gerard David by Paris : Éditions du Chêne 1950-Flemish artists of the Valois courts; a survey of the fourteenth- and early fifteenth-century development of bookillumination and panel painting at the courts of the princes of the House of Valois by Ruth Massey Tovell

Symbolism

Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art by James Hall

Symbolism (Big Art S.) by Michael Gibson and Gilles Neret

Symbols and Allegories in Art (Guide to Imagery Series) by Matilde Battistini

Christian Symbolism in Art by Katherine E. Conway