Arnolfini Portrait

He a wealthy merchant in the city of Bruges needed a commemorative painting of him and his wife. The portrait is in a way about his wealth and everything from both of their clothing and furnishings is indicative of a wealthy merchant’s life. This is a period where a tremendous value is put into symbolism. There is plenty of symbolism in this portrait everything from their shoes being off, to the joining of their hands, and a single candle in the chandelier. Their shoes off…

However, modern conservation techniques have been used to restore it. Leonardo returned to Florence in 1502 and began working on the “Mona Lisa” in 1503. “The privately commissioned work is characterized by the enigmatic smile of the woman in the half-portrait, which derives from da Vinci’s sfumato technique” (“Leonardo da Vinci Biography,” n.d.). Jan had a similar career to…

In the famous painting “The Arnolfini Portrait” by Jan van Eyck, Giovanni is holding his wife’s hand in such a way, as if he is presenting her as his property or his treasure. Another point to be made about the painting is that Giovanna is facing towards her husband while posing, whereas Giovanni is facing towards the artist who is painting the picture and holding his hand up, which creates an idea for the viewer that he is the more dominant and of the most importance out of everyone and…

with the fall of the Byzantine Empire and began with the Modern Era. The characteristics of the Northern Renaissance were the thoroughness in the details, inclusion of the naturalism, and human figure. In the painting of Jan van Eyck, Giovanni Arnolfini and his Bride we can easily notice all the specifics characteristic owned by the Renaissance in the North. First, the precisely in the details is undeniable. Every detail was carefully taken care with the help of the oil and the special brushes.…

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…

This wedding portrait displays artist Van Eyck’s love for detail displayed within his work. First we can assume that Arnolfini’s is wealthy, being that he wears a big fur coat and a very large hat. His hands represent loyalty and faithfulness by the way they are placed. This is giving the assumption that Arnolfini and his wife were sworn before two other witnesses. In the mirror you can see two other people, one…

I enjoy immersing myself in a painting and learning the intentions of the artist but what fascinates me most is relating the work to its context. When I researched, wrote and produced a documentary for the national competition SPoKE on Raphael's 'Transfiguration,' I was able to develop my understanding and love for a work of art which I thought I knew well. I regard the compositions of Raphael as more sophisticated than those of any other 16th century artist, but investigating the stylistic…

The Renaissance period became one of the most influential and interesting periods of history. The North Renaissance primary statement conveyed a “religious change” (Fiero). Music, art, and literature began to gain notability and develop a uniqueness in its own right in the North Renaissance period. The ones who influenced music, art, and literature in this period established themselves as trail blazers for the North Renaissance era. Many musical composers joined the “civic, religious, and…

Two pieces from the Northern Renaissance were also used in order to provide evidence of differences in Italian and Northern paintings in this period; Mathias Grunewald, Crucifixion Panel of the Isenheim Altarpiece (1515-19) and Jan Van Eyck, Arnolfini Portrait (1434). Chosen paintings allowed for the illustration of differences in subject matter and style throughout the Northern and Italian Renaissances. While the Italian Renaissance painted works of beauty and prowess of religious and…

vanishing point behind the woman’s head. Da Vinci also used chiaroscuro which is the treatment of light and shade in drawing. In 1434, Jan Van Eyck, a Belgian artist, set to work on the Arnolfini Wedding, his convincingly realistic work, with use of textures and light. This is a portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife. The mirror in the painting reveals two figures in the doorway, and Arnolfini’s hand is raised, as if in a sign of…