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