The Marriage of Arnolfini

CONTENT
1. Symbols
  1. Chandelier shows off wealth - impossibly accurate proportions hint at use of optical devices. Unusually, has only one candle in it
  2. Idyllic nature of marriage insinuated through orange (garden of Eden), dog, (loyalty and fidelity) and bed (to symbolise passion - red)
  3. Mirror: represents vanity - reflection may insinuate an open marriage? Shows four reflected figures. Convex and so suitable for use as an optical device
  4. Gargoyle: sits directly above joined hands of couple and seems to sneer at their union. Seems evil, as if mocking the legitimacy of their marriage and suggesting it is for wealth and convenience alone. Appears to undermine sacred and religious ceremony
2. A man and a woman stand in a domestic room. The woman's hand lies open on the man's hand - she looks at the hand while he gazes towards us. His right hand is raised in a gesture similar to that of political leaders - suggests power
3. Significantly showed a contemporary couple in a contemporary setting (evident in fashionable style of woman)
4. Surroundings are highly detailed and undoubtably expensive, textures such as the fur and lace showing off both the wealth of the subject and the skill of the artist
CONTEXT
1. 1434
2. Middle class in Bruges becoming wealthier and more powerful - began to commission art
  1. But no commission or documentation accompanies this painting
3. Merchants became very rich - hence contemporary subject, focused on textile
4. Painting owned by Giorgio Arnolfini, textile merchant
5. Painters belonged to same guild as lens-makers, giving them access to lenses and mirrors to aid them in their drawing
COMPOSITION AND SPACE
1. Largely circular compositon. Light falls on the joined hands and leads up the figures, and then down again from the chandelier. As viewers we repeatedly circle the mirror - hinting at its importance
  1. Details become more apparent as you move round the room
2. Perspective not entirely correct - figures seem oddly large in room. Probably due to use of optical devices
LIGHT
1. Sourced from large window on left - yet another hint at optical devices as provides the strong light necessary
COLOUR
1. Colours are predominately earthy and homely, emphasises domesticity
2. Red of bed and green of dress comparatively striking, focus on their wealth
TECHNIQUES AND STYLE
1. Use of oil paint allowed further detail to be added. Could now uses glaze (layer upon thin layer), mixing and blending rather than tedious method of fast-drying egg tempura
INTERPRETATION
1. 1. Panovsky
  1. Art historian. Believed details added up to meaning, that this was in fact a marriage certificate in itself
    1. Signature was legal documentation
    2. Figures in mirror were witnesses
    3. Candle represented the presence of God
  2. BUT infrared scans showed symbols were later additions and so lacking in importance.
  3. BUT documentation discovered, proving Arnolfini (paintings owner and supposedly subject) was not married until 14 years after the completion of the painting, long after the death of Van Eyck
2. 2. Van Eyck's fiction
  1. Sneering gargoyle could not only show up the marriage but the whole painting as a sham
  2. Collection of objects simply brought together as optimum show of wealth and artistic skill - for example, bed would never be displayed as such
    1. Simply lavish show of Van Eyck's skill and wonders of oil paint, irrelevant ownership or subject
  3. Mirror, candle and strong light hint at 'tricks of the trade' as they are necessary tools for contsructing a painting with optical devices

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The Marriage of Arnolfini

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	Created by peggyhughes almost 11 years ago