Jan Van Eyck's Iconography

Iconography: Iconography is the practice of perceiving a visual work for more than what it is plainly seen as. Through different lenses a viewer can assume more deeper meanings about the artwork. These assumptions can be related to many areas such as: time period, how it relates to literature, social classes, culture, values, and the relationship between the artist and his/her subject. An example of how we learned, as a class, to use iconography was with our observation of Jan Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait. In class we spend a good amount of time looking at this piece and picking it apart. We discussed for example the clothing the subjects were wearing and how it related to their wealth, status and values. We were iconographers dissecting …show more content…
Some authors include Anne D’Alleva, Erwin Panofsky, and Brendan Cassidy. In her book Look! Anne D’Alleva provides a short interpretation of the Arnolfini Portrait. She establishes her argument in a subtle way as she is trying to guide students in how to interpret art. Her argument is mostly about the wealth this couple has. She describes how the oranges are scattered carelessly along the window frame, as to show the neglect of such a rare and expensive fruit. She proves this wealth to readers by giving some history of oranges during that time in Europe. She describes them as a rare and costly import from Spain. D’Alleva also points out the couples fur-trimmed clothing and how it is a statement of their social status. The dog in the bottom of the painting she argues is a pure breed, an expensive dog. A dog she says as well can be a symbol of fidelity, but she does not elaborate on that subject. In regard to if this work depicts a marriage or not she disagrees. D’Alleva doubts the idea. Instead she says it may commemorate a legal arrangement, such as the husband granting his wife power of attorney to their wealth and