Jan van Eyck was a leading Flemish painter in the Netherland Renaissance in the 15th century. Van Eyck is known primarily for his realistic portrait paintings, usually of religious subjects. At this point in time, oil painting was a new invention and not many artists knew just how to work with it. His work with oils is what made him such a talented artist in the 15th century. One work of his in particular that interests me is Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife Giovanna Cenami, painted in 1434. This painting, made with oils on an oak panel, depicts a man and woman holding hands in what seems to be the bedroom area of their home. The man, wearing a long, fur-lined coat, is raising his right hand as if he is taking an oath or vow. The woman, dressed in a long, expensive looking green dress, has one hand resting on her stomach, as if she were pregnant, but according to historians, the swelling of a women’s stomach was just a sign of woman’s beauty. On the back wall of the room, van Eyck painted a mirror in the center of the wall, and above the mirror he wrote Jan de Eyck fuit hic, translating into “Jan van Eyck was here.” In the mirror, the reflection is that of two figures, one of these a man in a …show more content…
The room depicted in the portrait is very narrow and all of the furniture seems to be placed really close together. There is just enough room for Arnolfini and his wife to stand close together holding hands. I think van Eyck did this so that viewers looking in this painting could focus solely on the important things, like Arnolfini, his wife, the mirror between them, etc. One can only see the edge of the bed and chair behind the couple, which allows the attention to be set on what is going on in the middle of the room. It also makes the setting seem that much more intimate and close, considering it’s been speculated that the event that is taking place in the painting is a