Jan van Eyck & Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife
The Early Renaissance period forever transformed how art was perceived by the world. Beginning in the fourteenth century, the period shifted from one of peace and tranquility to one filled with strife and conflicts (Cunningham, 374). Artists used these changes in the regions and poured out their souls onto canvas to portray the world and its society. Jan van Eyck was one of these artists, following in the footsteps of the movements known as humanism and naturalism. One of his most famous portraits, Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife, helped to set the standard in the art world as his close attention to detail and use of symbolism has been copied by many even to this day. During the beginning years…show more content… Not much else is known about his early life, only that he stayed around the Netherland region, gained a good education as a gentry, and became known as a Northern European artist as he embraced the naturalism movement into his artistic file cabinet. He moved around constantly, always traveling for diplomats and wealthy citizens to paint for them, as the court of Philip the Good paid him a salary (Benjamin, 187). It was because of this that Eyck did not have to worry about painting for commission and granted him the freedom to paint as he wished, a freedom most artists can only dream of obtaining. He not only created portraits, but he was also hired to paint altarpieces for cathedrals. His most famous altarpiece, the Ghent Altarpiece, was a collaboration with his brother who was also an artist (Benjamin, 189). However it was his ability to maneuver the paint that made his popularity grow. Viewers adored the way Eyck handled the brush and the mediums he used, typically those with oil mixed in (Cunningham, 374). Fellow artists borrowed and mimicked his techniques and usage of symbolism, an example being the mirror presented in the background of the Arnolfini portrait. Robert Campin made his own interpretation solely based off Eyck’s, mimicking the reflection and the circular presentation (Criminisi, 111). It was because of his lack of fear and his striking originalism that brought him fame, allowing him to leave a lasting mark on the viewing of
