Personal Artwork

Pictures from Italy!

Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini

This week, I chose to write about the Jan van Eyck painting; called ‘Giovanni Arnolfini and his bride, double portrait’ of 1434; otherwise known as the ‘Arnolfini wedding’. This small portrait is of a man and woman. The man who is identified as Giovanni Arnolfini a member of an Italian merchant family living in Flaunders.

It is believed the two people in the portrait signed a contract of marriage in their home. The picture may be an engagement photo for them. The man is wearing an ugly, oversized black hat and a long coat. The man’s face is pale and he appears to be much older than the woman in the portrait. The gentleman’s right hand is raised up and his eyes are not looking at her, but rather looking straightforward. The girl in the portrait appears much younger than the man. She is wearing a fluffy, green winter dress with a blue under dress beneath. At first glance she looks pregnant, but is not. The young woman is lifting the front of her dress at the middle. She has a white veil that has lace embroidery; which represents it was a special occasion. Her hair is pulled back and she is not looking at the man, she is looking down.

The couple is not quite holding hands but rather the woman is resting her hand on top of his. They are standing in the middle of a tiny living room. There is a red day bed, a couch, a mirror, a brass chandelier and a dog in the room with them. There is a window with light showing threw behind the man. According to Cole and Gealt the objects in the room give specific character but also carry “symbolic messages that may gloss a wedding ceremony” (119).

There are many mysteries of content and symbolism within the artwork. On the windowsill, behind the man there are ripening oranges, which is symbols of fertility. “ The dog is an emblem of fidelity and the mirror stands for purity” (119). According to Cole and Gealt, marriage was a sacrament that was not needed to be performed in a church by a priest. Instead marriages were often solemnized at home, and it may be that the small figures reflected in the mirror are witnesses to the event; one being the artist himself (119).
This Jan van Eyck portrait is important because of it’s ability to reproduce, almost duplicate, the effects of light streaming in from the window; never before in the history of art had light been painted with such realism (118). This portrait reflects the increasing secularism of a burgeoning commercial society (117). It is striking in that the diminutive painting is the realism of its microcosmic world (117). According to Cole, Van Eyck probably chose to use oil paint because it allowed him to reproduce objects with greater fidelity than ever before (118). The colors in the painting are remarkable for their deep saturation and variety (118).
The realism appealed to the rich. This new art form by Van Eyck was of great realism and “crystalline clarity” it produced lasting visual and intellectual images (117). Van Eych was influenced by many before him; such as Philip the Bold, Philip the Good and the Limbourg brothers.


REFERENCES

Art Of The Western World, Bruce Cole and Adelheid Gealt, Summit Books, 1989.

Art History, Marilyn Stockstad

Virgin And Child - Chapter 17 Blog

Danielle Vadala
February 2, 2010
Blog Chpt. 17
17-17
VIRGIN AND CHILD

For the first Blog I chose Virgin and Child. It was striking to me. I thought it was a very tall statue. I was wrong. It was made in 1339 out of Silver gilt and enamel. This statue’s height it only 27 inches tall. So it appears to be much taller than it truly is. Now it resides in Musee du Louvre, Paris.

Many medieval artists used the theme Madonna and Child. There are many pieces of Virgin ad Child but this one I liked most. How does their art speak to us on the 21st century?

To me, at first this statute appears to be made out of gold. It is all the same color and is quite striking. The Virgin Mary holds her baby in her left arm and her weight on her left leg, creating the graceful “S” curve pose that became characteristic of the period. The Virgin Mary holds Jesus in her arms and looks into his eyes. This shows the strong bond between a Mother and child.

The very young mother holds joy and sorrow in her arms. She was chosen t have this child and trials of being a mother and what was to come in their future. In the statue the Christ Child is touching his mom’s lips in a very humanlike, real gesture, a hint of realism. The baby is naked, cloaked in the draping robes his mother is wearing. Her simple, fluid drapes wraps herself over the over her head, as a hood and wrap the baby Jesus. The baby also appears to be holding a ball in his hand; maybe the world? The virgin mother holds a scepter in her hand with a large enameled and jeweled fluer-de-lis, the heraldic symbol of French royalty.

Queen Jeanne commissioned the piece to hold a very special Relic, a few strands, of Mary’s hair. Did the queen really think the hair was in there? The Relic is at the top of the scepter. She holds it in her right hand and it hangs down from her hand a couple of inches. The top of it, the Relic looks painted light green enamel. The statue is standing on a small enameled box that has scenes from the Passion of the Christ depicted on it. This is to remind us of the suffering yet to come. An inscription on the base shows the year 1313, and the donor’s name, Queen Jeanne d’Evruex.

In the Catholic faith the theme of the statute is the blessed mother and her child Jesus. And to have a real part of the blessed virgin was extraordinary important to the people who lived in the renaissance; and to people who are faithful today. Even if you are not catholic the idea of mother and baby is a very real and relevant, contemporary theme.

According to the website, Hakia, the base rests on four tiny lions, one on each corner and surrounding the base are niches that frame the scenes. Within the niches are smaller statuettes of prophets that depict scenes of Christ’s Passion. The child, Jesus is portrayed as an ordinary innocent child.

We do not know anything specific about the sculptor but the person must have been pretty important to the queen if she asked him to do this artwork for her.


Sources:
Hakia
Art History, by Marilyn Stokstad