Arnolfini Wedding- Equal Standing Ground

Arnolfini Wedding

Jan van Eyck, Arnolfini Wedding, 1434

                This famous painting by Jan Van Eyck is thought to be one of the most famous oil paintings to date. This is the first piece he created after perfecting oil paints. This oil painting was done on an oak panel and was relatively small compared to the large scale Cathedrals Van Eyck painted later in his life. The paintings is speculated to be of  Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife. Although it simply looks to be a representation of strong artistry and high quality paint, the painting holds strong religious symbolism.

                This painting supposed to show a wedding but it is placed in their bedroom not in a traditional church setting. There is a single candle in the painting which is meant to signify the presence of Jesus in their lives and vows. The wife appears pregnant, which although looks odd, is meant to signify fertility and her intention to have children. Her dress is green which is the color that symbolizes fertility. The rise in the front of the dress hits toward these assumptions as well. Some historians believe this painting may have served as a marriage license in the form of a painting.

                Van Eyck used many layers of glaze paint to create the effect of realism. He wanted to add to the intensity and pull away from abstract perspectives. He used his alteration of oil painted to make the piece appear three dimensional.  There is such a great amount of detail that there is even a realistic dog in between them, which is placed to symbolize loyalty.

 

Jan Van Eyck

Jan Van Eyck was a famous painter of the Roman Empire. His claim to fame is perfecting the art of oil painting. He worked with the painting and mixing in other things such as beeswax to give the paint more depth. Because of these techniques his paintings such as Arnolfini Wedding and many others are far less dark than previous oil paintings. The paintings also hold up better over time without deteriorating. Van Eyck was known as a naturalist and his paintings commonly held religious meaning. He was a realist and worked to exemplify his paintings through work that showed a broadened viewpoint of the world.

           

Jan Van Eyck, Adoration of the Lamb

           

 Another one of his pieces, Adoration of the Lamb, also called Ghent Altarpiece is an alter painted on both sides and is placed in a Cathedral. His art work was very powerful to the religious community and many people debated over what his work meant. Many argued that the Adoration of the Lamb was placing the sheep on the alter as to signify  the hierarchy of the church. Many question that in his view as a realist, this painting may have altering implications on the power of the human capability. This piece was almost destroyed my rioting Calvinists during the reformation, but despite the adversity the piece holds even today. 

Reinvention of Rome by the Catholic Church

All of Jan Van Eyck’s pieces hold strong religious implications, specifically to the Catholic Church. The church was a strong influence in Rome and Although Van Eyck was from the Netherlands, their influence spread across Europe. Because of their influence, he has created pieces of religious symbolism that hold still in cathedrals to this day. The Catholic church held not only religious but political power and because of this, religious art was highly sought out. The church also had large power over what art contained, leading to a biased towards Catholic themes. They wanted to focus on the essentials of Christianity which draws light on paintings such as Arnolfini Wedding  because it shows the religious ties of traditional marriage in the presence of God. 

My Perspective

One thing I found particularly interesting about the piece was that the mirror adds a great deal of depth to the piece. The wife is looking at her husband with a level head rather than looking down. To me this shows she feels equal to him rather than beneath him. She also is larger than him by the proportions of the drawings. I also notice her overpowering colors compared to him, and he the fact that her hand is on top of his. To me this shows me that she is a much stronger power in this painting

than he is. Since this painting shows a lot of symbolism related to religion and childbearing it could be showing a change in roles and a devotion to God. I believe that the mirror with scenes from the Passion of Christ are meant to signify their presence under God because they are placed within the reflection, and surrounded by the symbols of Christ.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Charney, Noah. The Ghent Altarpiece: the truth about the most stolen artwork of all time . 20 12 2013. 23 9 2015 <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/20/ghent-altarpiece-most-stolen-artwork-of-all-time>.

Eyck, Jan van: The Adoration of the Lamb . 19 9 2002. 2015 23 9 <http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/eyck/lamb/>.

History of Oil Paint. n.d. 23 9 2015 <http://www.cyberlipid.org/perox/oxid0011.htm>.

Jan Van Eyck's Arnolfini "Wedding" Portrait. n.d. 23 9 2015 <https://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth214_folder/van_eyck/arnolfini.html>.

The Northern Renaissance. n.d. 15 23 9 <http://robinurton.com/history/Renaissance/northrenaiss.htm>.