Jan van Eyck - The King of Painters

Jan Van Eyck c1390 -1441First created 20 Jun 2005. Version 4.0 13 July 2014. Jerry Tse, London.All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective owners. Available free for non-commercial and personal use.

He was the king of painters whose perfect and accurate works will never be forgottenJean Lemaire de Belge, 1504.The King of painters

Jan van Eyck was one of the greatest revolutionaries in art. He radically changed the way in which men look at the natural world. His artistic achievements were well-known in Renaissance Italy. Vasari, who wrote about Van Eyck a hundred years later, wrongly attributed the discovery of oil painting to him. Only a few years after his death in 1441, Jan van Eyck was being hailed on both sides of the Alps as one of the greatest painter of the age.

Despite Van Eycks great fame, little is known of his life except for his last years. For the last 16 years of his life, he worked at the court of Philip the Good, The Duke of Burgundy. The Duke made use of his skills as both painter and diplomat, sending him on numerous secret missions.

The works of Jan van Eyck are celebrated for their visual splendor and precision of detail. Their brilliant colours and magnificent definition are due to Jans refinement of the oil-painting technique. 1

European painting made a decisive break, in the 15th century.

Changes took place in Italy and in Flanders (modern day Belgium & Netherlands).

In Italy, it centred around Florence. In Flanders, it centred around the ports of Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp.

Flanders was the financial and cultural centre of Northern Europe; it was amongst the most prosperous places in Europe.Panoramic view of Florence 2003Guild houses Ghent 2002The Northern Renaissance

History

2In the 15C Western painting made a decisive break with the past. The changes took place in two areas Italy, in the south and the Low Countries in the north (modern Belgium and Netherlands, also known as the Flanders). The Flanders was one of the richest land in Europe. The prosperity was centred around the port of Gent, Brugge (Bruges) and Antwerp.

When the Count of Flanders died in 1384, Flanders was passed to the Duke of Burgundy, Philip II, who married the daughter of the count.

Dukes of Burgundy built a state, including Flanders and Brabant, between France and Germany. Burgundy, the rising star of the 15th century was partitioned after Charles the Bold was killed in the battle in 1477. The Times Atlas of the world. 3rd edition. 1989 p150.

Van Eyck lived under the reign of Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (Philip the Good or Philippe le Bon, 1396-1467). Philip III became Duke of Burgundy in 1419.

Man in Tuban (probably a self-portrait). 1433. Van Eyck.National Gallery. London.

A motto was found on this painting Als ich kan (As I can).Jan van Eyck was born before 1390 but very little is known about his early life before 1422. He moved to Bruges in 1430 and lived there until he died in 1441.

He was one of the greatest and most influential painters. His style was naturalistic, full of realistic details. He belonged to the Early Netherlandish School.

Van Eyck is the first painter who used and mastered the technique of oil painting, which transformed European paintings.

He was employed as a court painter by Philip the Good, the powerful Duke of Burgundy, and enjoyed patronage of the rich and famous. He was also a diplomat and undertook numerous ambassadorial journey for the Duke.Jan van Eyck

Biography

3Jan van Eyck was born before 1390 and died in 1441.Early Netherlandish School. He is seen as the forefather of the Flemish Primitive school. He was one of the greatest revolutionaries in art and changed the way in which we look at the natural world.Rogier van der Weyden c.1400-1464 combined van Eycks light and realism with work of religious intensity.Portrait. Man in a red turban, 1433 NG London. Als ich kan (As I can)Jan van Eyck was one of the first artist to use and master the technique of oil painting. He was credited wrongly by Vasari for the discovery of oil painting. Jan van Eyck moved to Bruges probably in 1430 and lived ther he died. His other master pieces. Adoration of the Lamb, 1432. Ghent. The Madonna and Chancellor Rolin, c1435, Louvre. Madonna and Child c1434, Bruges.

Van Eyck was years ahead of his time. He painted his masterpieces even before the famous Renaissance painters were born .

The use of LensVan Eyck painted the mirror on the right. How is it possible that reflections in the mirror appear so realistic, even before the laws of perspective were discovered?

Between the late 1420s and the early 1430s, paintings in Flanders suddenly look more photographic.

Painters in Flanders had discovered the use of the lens to project images, helping them to paint. They employed a device called Camera Obscura.

Camera Obscura is a dark room with an opening for lens. Van Eyck may have used such device.The mirror in the painting.Only 5 years separate the two portraits. Left. Masolino da Panicale c1425. Right Robert Campin c1430.A pair of spectacle painted by Jan Van Eyck in 1434.

Techniques

5The mirror and the perspective.Why the reflection on the mirror is so accurate. Even before the discovery of the law of perspective.Between the late 1420s and early 1430s, suddenly paintings in Flanders look much more naturalistic, with photographic looking images.It is generally accepted that painters in Flanders discovered the use of lens to project images, which

Comparison of Netherlandish and Italian Portraits

Netherlandish and Italian PortraitsPortrait

Significant progress was made in the decade between 1425 and 1435. The Netherlandish portraits on the top row were more naturalistic..

PortraitGod on the Altarpiece. 1432.Van Eycks PortraitureVan Eycks was a successful portrait painter. His portraits could be frontal, full-length (left), or profile (above) or half-length, three quarter (right) or even double portraits. He was among the first to paint the three quarter pose.

Madonna of Joris van der Paele (Detail - Paele). 1434.

Jan de Leeuw. 1436.

CostumePainted in Italy in 1443, note how the costumes were painted. This was fairly typical of the time.Italian costumes

CostumeComparison of costumes

Drapery painted by van Eyck in c1426 (Left). Massolino painted these costumes in 1426-27 (Right).

CostumeA few years later in 1434 van Eyck painted these draperies and the carpet. What has changed? His mastery of oil painting and the use of optics may have paid an important part. Van Eycks costumes

Italian landscapeAdoration of the Magi (detail). 1423 by Gentile de Fabriano, UffiziSt George and the Princess of Trebizond (detail). 1436 by Pisanello. Church of Sa Anstasia, Verona.Landscape

Italian landscapeLandscape

Pure landscape painting did not exist in early 15C. Inevitably landscape was used as backdrop for some paintings. In this period Italian landscape tended to be representational and marginalised for more worthwhile subjects. Painters were more interested in the laws of perspective to create the illusion of depth as in the above.

Van Eyck introduced extensive use of landscape in his paintings. His landscape was an integral part of the painting and his approach was more naturalistic, carefully depicted the light and shadows. This is the detail view of a city in the Adoration of the Lamb.Van Eycks landscape.Landscape

ArmourComparison of ArmourVan Eyck 1434.Andrea del Castagno c1448.Van Eyck was also years ahead in depicting armours using oil. Mantegna c1460.

The New York Diptych Crucifixion and the Last Judgement. 1425.Religious Painting

Van Eycks Paintings

The New York Diptych Detail CrucifixionReligious Painting

New York Diptych - Details Last JudgementReligious Painting

The Ghent Altarpiece, 1432The Ghent Altarpiece is one of the greatest artistic achievement of 15C (1432). The altarpiece is very large and was painted for the Cathedral of St Bavo. It was began by Hubert Van Eyck, Jans elder brother, but finished by Jan Van Eyck.

The altarpiece was painted on the Exterior and the Interior, which is revealed by opening the panels.

Interior of the altarpieceExterior of the altarpieceGhent Altarpiece

The Ghent Altarpiece - ExteriorWhen Ghent Altarpiece is closed, the paintings on the Exterior tells the story about the coming of Jesus. Ghent Altarpiece

Exterior details - The angel and the sibyl Ghent Altarpiece

The Ghent Altarpiece - InteriorGhent Altarpiece

Ghent Altarpiece 1432Interior details Judges, Soldier and Music

Music Making.Soldier of Christ.Just Judges.

Interior details Adoration of the LambGhent Altarpiece

Ghent Altarpiece 1432Interior details The Lamb and Crowd.

The Crowd.The Sacrificial Lamb.

Ghent Altarpiece 1432Interior details The Church Group

Note how well van Eyck painted the jewellery. This highlighted an advantage of oil paints over tempera.

Ghent Altarpiece 1432Interior details Worshipers

Van de Paele 1434

Paele (right) was painted with bald and wrinkled head, holding his spectacle, which distorted the text in the book. Below is the detail of the costume of St Donatian and St George.

Van de Paele 1434Details Donor, Costume and Armour

The Donor Van de PaeleCostume and armour.

Van de Paele 1434Details Madonna and CanonMadonna and Child.The Donatian.

Madonna of Chancellor Rolin

Nicolas Rolin was Chancellor of Burgundy and Brabant. The three arches are probably intended to symbolize the Trinity. Though the arches is a breathtaking landscape of a city, showing the mastery of Van Eyck in dealing with perspective and space.

The work ranks amongst the most impressive examples of Early Netherlandish landscape painting, and was also significant in the evolution of the donor portrait. The effects of light are also a dominant feature of the painting: reflected on the windows, the ppolished tiles, the surface of the river and the distant flow of the horizon. It played an influential role in the development of the luminous style of later Italian artists such as Piero della Francesca and Domenico Ghirlandaio. The legacy of van Eyck was to affect the course of art history for many decades to come.

31

Chancellor RolinMadonna of Chancellor Rolin

Madonna of Chancellor RolinDetails Jesus & Landscape

Madonna of Chancellor RolinDetails Townscape

Madonna of Chancellor RolinDetails River

The Arnolfini WeddingMost people are often surprised, when they see the painting for the first time because of its small size, about the size of a small bathroom mirror.

We see a rather ugly man with a big hat holding the hand of a woman, who looks like that she is pregnant, with strange hair style and headdress standing in a rather small bedroom.

We start to wonder why this is a masterpiece.

This is because we look at the painting through modern eyes and judge it by aesthetics alone. We ignore the historical context in which it was painted.The Arnolfini Marriage.1434. 82x60 cm. Oil on Panel. Jan Van Eyck The National Gallery, London.

36First impressionUgly man with a big hat and a pregnant woman in a small room, far from a masterpiece.

The Historical ContextDa Vinci 1452-1519Michelanglo 1475-1564Campin 1375-1444Van Eyck 1390-1441When van Eyck painted the Arnolfini Marriage, it was painted over 70 years before Da Vincis Mona Lisa or Michelangelo's Sistine chapel.

Van Eycks painting look far more true to life than his contemporaries in Italy, as illustrated by the portrait of St Paul by Masaccio on the right a few years before the Marriage of Arnolfini.San Paol. 1426. Masaccio. Italian. Museo Nazionale. Pisa.Robert Campin, who also painted in similar way is included in above for comparison.

Giovanna Cenami, 1434.

37His contemporty painters Italy & North. Example of paintings. Bar chart to Michaelanglo.

The Display of WealthThe house was built with bricks, as can be seen from the wall shown outside the window. Underneath the window, oranges are painted that could only have come from southern European. The couple are opulently dressed in fur and expensive white ermine. The Turkish carpet on the floor, the hangings on the bed, the mirror and the chandelier were all items of luxury.The man in the painting was Giovanni Arnolfini, a rich silk merchant from Lucca Italy.

The lady was thought to be Giovanna Cenami, daughter of a prominent Italian financier.

The entire painting is filled with objects of wealth.Details. Apple on the window ledge and oranges on the table.Details. Fur on Arnolfinis cloth. Fur lining on Cenami cloth. Turkey carpet on the floor.The Arnolfini Portrait. 1434. Jan Van Eyck.

The Arnolfini Wedding

38The painting depict Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna CenamiWho are they?Giovanni died in 1470 and Ciovanna died 10 years later and left no children. Painted in Brugge.Giovanni Arnolfini is a silk merchant from Tuscany.House is built of brick, rich clothes, hanging of the bed, Turkish carpet, mirror, oranges all signs of prosperity.

Allegory & Cultural SymbolsMirror on the wall.ChandelierGiovannas clogsGiovannis clogsDogAllegory is used by painters to represent abstract concepts like bravery, faith or royalty.

Religious symbols can be found littered in the painting; apples as fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, the Carving of St Margaret patron saint of childbirth, Prayer beads and a single candle on the chandelier signifying the presence of Christ.

In contrast, secular symbols were also used; dogs for fidelity, a bed for the consummation of marriage, the blue sleeves & the white lining worn by the lady denote purity, clogs cast away representing the abandoning of daily chores on this solemn occasion.

The Arnolfini Wedding

39Use of symbols as representations of abstract qualities, like faith, bravery, royalty etc. is known as allegory.Dog is a sign of fidelity. Apple on the window ledge may be a symbol of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.Carving of S Margaret, patron saint of childbirth, on the back of the chair represents childbirth.Bed represents the consummation of marriage. Christs Passion on the roundels of the mirror.Prayer beads, rosary made of crystal or amber. A single candle signifying the presence of Christ (Spirit of God, burns in the ornate brass chandelier.. The pregnant as a symbol of purpose of marriage and prophecy. The voluminous dress was the fashion than that its folds conceal her pregnancy.The blue of the womans sleeves and underskirt may be used to denote purity.Mans Clogs. Casting away his clogs, to indicate this event took place in holy ground.Defined the relationship of marriage in both worldly and spiritual terms.

Was it a Marriage?The painting tells us this was an important occasion. Above the mirror, van Eyck wrote Johannes de Eyck fuit hic 1434 (van Eyck was here) as witness to the occasion.

So if this was a marriage, then why were only four persons present, two of whom only shown in the reflection on the mirror? Shouldnt we expect more people?

In the 15th Century it was customary for the couple to exchange vows before marriage; an engagement. The painting depicts the moment when Arnolfini took the hand of Cenami and raised his left hand, as he betrothed (vowed to marry) his future bride. In fact, the painting was thought to be the Betrothal between Arnolfini and Cenami.Arnlfini became a councillor to the Duke of Burgundy and was knighted in 1462. He died in 1472 in Brugge, 38 years after the painting and two years before the birth of Michelanglo. Cenami died ten years later and the couple perished childless, with no evidence that they had raised any children.

In 1470, Arnolfini was sued by a woman, who wanted jewellery that he had given her, returned to her. She also sought a pension and several houses that she had been promised. So it appears, Arnolfini may have married Cenami for her money.

Jan van Eyck died seven years after he painted this picture. He is now widely recognized as one of the greatest painters who ever lived.Giovanni Arnolfini, also painted by van Eyck.Giovanna Cenami

The Arnolfini Wedding

40Depicts the moment, when a couple exchanging their wedding vows.Two witnesses in the mirror.Jan van Eck was was here in 1434.The present of ChristOnly four persons in the room.Giovanni died in 1472 buried in Brugge (Augustinian church) and Ciovanna died 10 years later and left no children. Giovanni married Giovanna Cenami the daughter of one of the most prominent Lucchese families established in northern Europe. Giovanna's grandmother was the niece of Dino Rapondi who along with his three brothers were close financial advisors and bankers for the Dukes Philip the Bold, John the Fearless, and Philip the Good of Burgundy at the end of the fourteenth century and the beginning of the fifteenth century. In 1432 when the last of the four Rapondi brothers died, Philip the Good had a special mass sung for them. Marriage alliances like that between the Cenami and Rapondi families were not private but public matters with the futures of the families' businesses inextricably linked. For Giovanni Arnolfini marrying into such a prominent family as the Cenamis was undoubtedly a significant boost to his financial fortunes. Unfortunately, we do not know which year they were married. So while not certain, the identification of the couple as Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami seems likely.

The Arnolfini WeddingSince my first version of the slideshow, new interpretations of the paintings has come to light.

A chance discovery in 1997 that Arnolfini married his wife Jeanne Cenami in 1447, 13 years after painting was painted.

According to Margaret Koster the painting is a memorial depiction ofMystery deepenedArnolfinis first undocumented wife Costanza Trenta, who died in Feb 1433.

Kosters strongest interpretation is based on the two candles on the chandelier. One burning candle above Arnolfini and a burn out candle with dried wax above his wife.

Thus the interpretation of the painting changes from a marriage to a betrothal and to a memorial.

Burn out candle holder with wax on its surface.

The paintingThe Arnolfini Portrait. .1434. 82x60 cm. Oil on Panel. Jan Van Eyck The National Gallery, London.

De LannoyPortraitNote how well the coat was painted.Van Eyck other paintings

Portrait

Cardinal Niccolo Albergti. 1438. Oil on wood. 34.1x27.3 cm. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.Portrait

Van Eycks wifePortrait

Madonna in the Church (Detail). C1438-40. Oil on oak. 31x14 cm. Gemaldegalerie, Berlin.Religious Painting He painted several Madonna and Child paintings.

Relative sizes of paintings

Music Bach, Sheep May Graze Peacefully

All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective owners. Available free for non-commercial and personal use.

The diagram shows cabin with a lens. This is called a camera obscura. It is very likely that Jan van Eyck used such a device or setup to create images on his paintings. The End