Biography of Jan van Eyck. Portrait of the Arnolfini couple: Secrets and encrypted symbols in Van Eyck's painting Jan van Eyck biography interesting facts

Jan van Eyck and his older brother Hubert van Eyck were the founders of the Dutch Renaissance. Almost nothing is known about Hubert. Jan was his student, served as a court painter in The Hague at the court of John of Bavaria in 1422 - 1425. After that he worked at the court of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, traveled to Portugal and Spain on his diplomatic missions.

From 1430 he settled in Bruges, where he took up creative activity. There is a controversial opinion that van Eyck's work began with work on miniatures of the Turin-Milan Book of Hours Chegodaev A.D. General History of Arts, Volume 3, 1962. P. 586 ..

The work that marked the beginning of the Renaissance in the Netherlands - the Ghent altar in the Cathedral of St. Bavo - was completed in 1432. In its upper tier, the scene of the Annunciation is depicted, in the lower - the figures of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. On either side of them are portraits of the donor Joss Wade, a Gents burgher, and his wife. The colors of the outer side of the altar are quite restrained, especially in the images of the Johns, while its inner part is filled with light and bright colors. Here, in the upper row, God the Father is depicted on the throne, to the left and to the right of him are the Mother of God and John the Baptist, bowed in prayer; further on both sides are musical angels, and Adam and Eve complete the row. On the lower tier in the middle there is a scene of worship of the sacrificial lamb, symbolizing the sacrifice of Christ for humanity, to the left of which are the Old Testament righteous, and to the right - the apostles. Next come the popes and bishops, the monks and the laity complete the row.

On weekdays, being closed, the altar looks strict and restrained. On holidays, the doors of the altar were opened, and the parishioners could see scenes full of cheerful colors, made in the technique of oil painting. The action of the central composition takes place on a green meadow surrounded by groves, which is an image of paradise on earth.

Other altar compositions by Jan van Eyck are more restrained, chamber, but they also have a harmonious combination of Renaissance love of life and medieval religious rigor.

Some of van Eyck's most famous paintings are Madonna of Chancellor Rolin (c. 1435) and Madonna of Canon van der Pale (1436). In both of these paintings there is a kind of mystical realism. In the first work, in the background we see a sprawling landscape of a big city with a river and endless fields, and in the center of the composition is Nicholas Rolin, bowing in prayer before the Mother of God. The space of the second, on the contrary, is concentrated within the framework of a small cramped church. Here, to the right of the Madonna, Georg van der Pale is depicted. In both compositions, the images of donors testify to the separation of the portrait into an independent genre. It is believed that one of the founders of this genre was Jan van Eyck, who later became one of the first major masters of portraiture of the Northern Renaissance.

One of the famous portraits of van Eyck is "Timothy", also known as the "Portrait of a Man" (1432). It depicts a man with an expressionless, but at the same time irresolvably mysterious look. This note is typical for other portrait works of the artist, for example, "The Man in the Red Turban" (1433), and the portrait of his wife Margarita van Eyck (1439).

Epochal in the artist's work was the "Portrait of the Arnolfini couple" (1434), depicting a married couple at the time of marriage. Merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife Giovanna are depicted in everyday life - at home. But the picture is filled with symbols and the smallest details indicating the exclusivity of the moment.

For example, two pairs of shoes are depicted on the floor - this small detail refers us to the Old Testament: “And God said: do not come here; take off your shoes from off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground” (“Exodus”, 3:5) Pentateuch of Moses. Torah; The Old Testament, the Bible.. The artist shows that at the moment the floor of their room is the holy ground for spouses, since the sacrament of marriage is performed in it. The concentration of postures, facial expressions and joined hands also indicate the solemnity of the occasion.

The work of Jan van Eyck introduced many new trends in the development of fine arts in the Netherlands and other European countries. It is still subordinated to medieval religiosity, but already carries an interest in the material, everyday side of everyday human life, emphasizes the significance of man in the world.

Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini. Jan van Eyck
1435. State Museum, Berlin.
Wood, oil. 29 X 20 cm.

Here, we will analyze the versions of what is happening. You - with pleasure, I - overcoming a slight personal dislike.

Let's take a look at what we actually see. In front of us in a small room with a low ceiling is a couple - a man and a woman, they are a little strange for us, but clearly smartly dressed; and the faces of both are far from ideal. The man has a disproportionately large head, which is further emphasized by the ridiculous huge hat, and the woman has the same disproportionate belly, which is also emphasized by special folds and tucks in the dress.

"PREGNANT" in the paintings of van Eyck himself and his contemporaries:

Saint Catherine (Virgin) on the "Dresden Triptych" by Jan van Eyck

Eve from the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck, 1432 (fruit in hand, before the fall)

Saint Margaret and Mary Magdalene (right) on a fragment of the Portinari altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes, 1474

"Love magic" (?) 1470

"Wheel of Fortune", miniature by Henry de Vulkope, second half. 15th century

Hans Memling "Vanity of Vanities"

Hans Memling "Bathsheba" 1470

Hugo van Dur Hus "The Fall" 1467

It seems that the "pot-belliedness" of the ladies was then in great fashion! So the pregnant or "pregnant" wife of Arnolfini in the picture is up to you to decide.

They stand almost in line in ceremonial postures; the man with this somehow strangely holds the woman's hand in his hand - palm up. The room is austerely decorated, perfect cleanliness, even somehow empty, but for some reason, a pair of abandoned shoes is lying around in the foreground and background. The rest of the small details in this "Spartan" room look strange and even slightly out of place, so the question involuntarily arises: why are they here? It is unlikely that all these carved wooden figures, a strange mirror behind on the wall, fruits on the windowsill are written by chance.

Glory - ordinary house slippers, women's (in the depth of the picture). Exactly the same as now. Right - protective slippers for the street

We delve into the analysis of what we see. The men in lilac velvet trimmed with fur are clearly not a simple city dweller, the woman does not see any jewelry, except for the chain and rings on her hand, but the style of the dress is complex and intricate, its trim is also fur (most likely, these are the white “bellies” of squirrels, it was very fashionable at the time. The slippers in the foreground are those safety shoes, kind of like galoshes, for walking down the street to save expensive boots and shoes. This suggests that the people who wore them moved outside the house on their own, and not on a horse or in a carriage, i.e. they did not belong to the aristocracy. Thus, before us are representatives of the middle class, and very non-poor. Most likely, these are rich merchants. And so it is.

A few more words about housing. Don't let the small size of the room fool you, especially when compared to the large areas of peasant taverns and dwellings that we will see in the paintings of the Netherlanders in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Netherlands still has a colossal shortage of space, especially in cities; after all, the inhabitants of the "low lands" (as the word "Netherlands" is translated) literally won every square centimeter of their country from the sea. "Drainage" works are still being carried out and will always be carried out, otherwise Holland and Belgium will simply be flooded by the sea. And if in the countryside houses are not so crowded, then in overpopulated cities, the cramped quarters of which are literally locked between canals, a unit of housing area has always cost a huge amount of money! Houses were usually built close to each other, in addition, the builders had one secret - narrow facades are slightly tilted forward in order to increase the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe upper floors at least a couple of centimeters (there are usually no more than three of them). So the pictured couple has the most common apartment for the middle class; we most likely found them in the bedroom - people have already thrown off their shoes, just undress - and here we are with van Eyck!
Perhaps the first floor of the building was occupied by a shop or office, but we see them on the second or third floor.

Cherry outside the window - perhaps a symbol of fertility.

Cherries are ripening outside the window, and the people in the picture are in warm clothes. This should not be surprising - such a strange summer in Flanders. The climate in Belgium is unimportant and always has been!

The surname of the man today seems to be established - he was from the Arnolfini family, wealthy Italian merchants who traded fabrics, leathers and furs in Europe in the 15th century. Yes Yes! He is Italian, despite the whitish physiognomy. But there are questions about the name. For a long time it was believed that this was Giovanni di Arrigio Arnolfini, a fabric merchant from Lucca, and next to him was his second wife Giovanna Cenami (also from a family of wealthy fabric merchants from the same Lucca), but documents have recently been found (there is a gift for their wedding) , which say that the wedding between them took place in 1447, 6 years after the death of van Eyck. So, if this is Giovanni di Argio, then this is his first wife, who died soon after. Or is it another Arnolfini, his cousin - Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini. Recently, it has been generally accepted that this is still Nicolao, so that a separate portrait, painted after the “Four…”, depicts Nicolao.

Who is he, this Arnolfini? He was born around 1400, i.e. was a little younger than van Eyck. Most likely, they were friends - after all, the artist served at the court of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, and Arnolfini was a merchant and supplied fabrics and luxury goods to the court. A merchant was born in Lucca, Italy, his family ran a successful trade both in their native Tuscany and abroad. Even in his youth, Giovanni came to Bruges and lived there until the end of his life. The subject of trade was silk, other expensive fabrics, as well as tapestries. It is known that Arnolfini placed six precious tapestries dedicated to the Mother of God at the duke's court.

This tapestry once belonged to Philip the Good. (took). It may have been sold by Arnolfini. Open in a new tab and zoom in - this is a masterpiece!

The painting is more than 600 years old, it had to “wander” around Europe a lot - van Eyck painted it for an Italian merchant who lived in Bruges, and now it hangs in London, at the National Gallery. For a long time she was in Spain, at the end of the 18th century she was taken to Belgium, and at the beginning of the 19th century, during the war with Napoleon, an English officer saw her in Brussels, bought her and brought her home. Naturally, over the years of "ordeals" documents related to the history of the creation of the picture were lost, and, moreover, its meaning and hidden symbolism became incomprehensible.

These people only owned the painting for the first hundred years!
(Arnolfini himself, nobleman Diego de Guevara, Margarita of Austria, Maria of Hungary, Spanish king Philip II, his son Don Carlos.

Like all the works of van Eyck, the picture is filled with many details and strange objects, the presence of which in the “Portrait of the Arnolfinia”, like in no other work, looks deliberate and not accidental. Perhaps van Eyck simply painted the picture in this way, trying to make the interior of the room, the figures and faces of those present, as well as many household details, look as natural as possible, and added all these items to enliven the picture, but he did not succeed. Even with a cursory glance at the picture, the feeling of magic, invisible magic does not leave you.

Perhaps that is why one of the old interpretations of the painting arose: for a long time it was believed that a pregnant woman is depicted here, who came to palmist to find out their future fate and the fate of the unborn child.

Chandelier - as in the photo! Here you can also see the famous inscription: "Vasya van Eyck was here." See Saint Margaret with the dragon?

This version is now resolutely rejected: a "palmist" in precious velvet and furs - isn't it too defiant luxury for a simple soothsayer? Yes, and the pregnancy of the lady in the picture cannot be confirmed - she will not be able to pass a pregnancy test due to her death about 550 years ago.

What other versions. There is a version sublime.
Its supporters believe that van Eyck depicted an allegory of marriage, focusing on its duality: the emphasized symmetry of the image, the couple in the portrait, separated from each other at a “demonstrative” distance, two pairs of shoes on the floor, a pair of rosaries hanging on the wall. The bed is a symbol of marriage, the dog is a symbol of family fidelity, etc. This version could be considered if the person in the picture didn’t look so similar ... yes, yes, he looks like Putin, leave me alone! ... and also for a man in a separate portrait. That is, this character is not fictional, but most likely real. True, the features of the lady's face seem to me somewhat conventional, generalized. We see similar female faces in other paintings by van Eyck, but we will return to this later.

Belgian Griffon

Art critic Erwin Panofsky once proposed a very slender, but now disputed version - supposedly this painting - document, Marriage certificate. Therefore, we see an ornate inscription on the wall: “Jan van Eyck was here,” and the artist also painted himself in the reflection of a convex mirror with another witness. This idea is also suggested by the extreme ceremony of the poses, and the hand of the groom raised in an oath.

On the underpainting in infrared rays, it can be seen that the oath-raised hand was initially even more turned towards the viewer

I do not think, however, that this option should be considered as the only correct one. If this was evidence, then it can hardly be regarded as a serious document, otherwise this practice would have taken root, and we would have seen a lot of work of followers made in this vein.

However, Panofsky's idea caught on, and many researchers developed it. Therefore, they say, two people are reflected in the mirror at the door, because two witnesses were needed for a marriage certificate. Some believe that the marriage was unequal, " left hand marriage”, so Arnolfini holds the palm of his lower-class bride in his left hand. The picture was evidence of family ties and the merchant's special trust in his wife, which allowed her to manage her husband's affairs in his absence. This, by the way, is another option - perhaps this is not a wedding, and not a marriage certificate, but something like a power of attorney for management.

Another version, quite mundane. To be honest, I stick with it too. Perhaps this is just a ceremonial portrait of spouses who have recently married. The bed is a symbol of the family bed and the place of childbearing, Saint Margaret, opening the belly of the dragon (we see her carved on the head of the bed) is the patroness of childbirth, the panicle is a symbol of the purity of marriage and a tidy life, the only candle burning on the chandelier is evidence of the presence of God. Oranges on the windowsill, haunting the researchers, are hardly an indicator of the family's wealth (in Flanders at that time it was a very expensive exotic fruit), otherwise why would van Eyck depict them on the windowsill in his famous painting “Madonna of Lucca” ?! Most likely, the fruits here are an allegory of fertility, or an allusion to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, the Adam's apple - the cause of original sin. This is a kind of edification and a reminder to those entering into marriage about the infinitely merciful sacrifice of Christ. The scenes of the passions, the death and resurrection of Christ depicted on the frame of the mirror echo this.

It is unlikely that Madonna Lucca boasts of her wealth!

This version also includes a dog. By the way, it is a well-defined breed - this is the progenitor of the Brussels (or Belgian) Griffon, only for the time being with a sharp nose. Dogs were often depicted at the feet of married women to emphasize their purity and devotion to their spouse. We see a dog on the hem of Isabella of Portugal in a picture depicting her wedding to Philip the Good, and dogs also lie at the feet of Mary of Burgundy in a sculptural group on the gravestone of the duchess. Interestingly, the dog in the 17th century was already interpreted as something opposite - as a symbol of lust. We can often see it in the genre scenes of the artists of the "Golden Age" of Dutch painting, when pardon, brothels or dates with courtesans were depicted.

Dog on the hem of the bride in the image of the wedding of the patron of the artist Philip the Good (painting probably by van Eyck)

A dog at the feet of the deceased on the gravestone of Mary of Burgundy (granddaughter of Duke Philip)

The dog at the bride's feet in the wedding scene on Rogier van der Weyden's triptych "The Seven Sacraments"

AFTER 150 YEARS, THE DOG SYMBOLIZED SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!:

Jos Cornelis Drochslot, 17th century. "Scene in the brothel"

fantastic, since there is no evidence of it - supposedly this is a self-portrait of van Eyck himself with his wife Margaret. If there are no confirmed self-portraits of van Eyck, then the portrait of his wife has survived to this day. It seems to me that only the Flemish nondescriptness unites her with the heroine of the paired portrait. Although, they look like each other, of course, what is already there.

Enough cute version, and not unfounded, I think - the picture is a kind of wish for the addition of offspring, the hope for a successful marriage. Hence the emphasized style of the woman's dress, oranges and cherries are fruits, St. Margaret is the patroness of "fertility", in the bride's slippers still removed: she hints at the fact that a woman is standing barefoot on the ground - this is such an ancient symbol of fertility, attachment to the earth. It is no coincidence that the compositional solution of the picture is so close to the popular and numerous at that time "Annunciation", when the archangel informs Mary about the imminent pregnancy.

Comparison with a portrait of Margaret van Eyck (1439)

Another version is very funny, but unlikely - supposedly the Arnolfini family was too modern, free-spirited, shocking the Catholic community. The spouses cheated on each other right and left and looked through their fingers at these fun, and the painting was ordered as a mockery of the bonds of marriage. On the frame of the picture there is an inscription - Ovid's verses: “Do not spare promises: they are not worth at all. Indeed, every poor man is rich in this wealth. The ceremonial posture of the spouse - the raised right hand, as if he is making some kind of vow, while maintaining an incredible seriousness of his face - is a mockery of this vow. The wife's pregnancy in the picture also harbors a hidden mockery, the only candle on the chandelier from the husband's side is an obscene and obvious symbol, especially in the presence of a bed. Slippers in the foreground, in the most prominent place, symbolize "campaigns to the left." The grotesque and mockery are emphasized by a decorative monster carved from wood, “sitting” directly above the joined palms of the spouses. And the fruits on the windowsill, hinting at original sin, in this context take on a completely different meaning.

At the same time, it is worth adding that Ovid entered the pier only in the 16-17th century, and the inscription itself on the frame was applied at the same time.

There is another version, a little sinister and mystical.
Allegedly, the picture still depicts Giovanni di Argio, but this is not his wedding, but a portrait with his wife, who has already died. Perhaps the woman died during childbirth, so we see her pregnant, and Saint Margaret is immediately appropriate. Therefore, the features of the woman's face are conditional and somewhat idealistic - the artist painted her from memory or from the description of a widower. Some interpretations of symbols can be considered as evidence of this version. So, the pictures on the mirror from the side of the husband depict the condemnation and passion of Christ, while the side of the wife depicts scenes after the death of Christ. A candle burning on the side of the man shows that he is alive, and empty places for candles on the side of the lady indicate that she has already left the world of the living.

Slippers symbolize that after the death of his wife Arnolfini vows "not to go out", to remain faithful to her.

These are the nine versions I have listed for you (even ten). Choose any, but know that there could well have been some other version that we and you have no idea about!

And with that I end my series of stories about Jan van Eyck. To be honest, I'm already pretty fed up with it, and I think you are too. It's high time to talk about Rogier van der Weyden!

I take information from books, the Internet, lectures

Jan van Eyck (Dutch Jan van Eyck, c. 1385 or 1390-1441) was a Dutch early Renaissance painter, portrait master, author of more than 100 compositions on religious subjects, one of the first artists who mastered the technique of painting with oil paints. The younger brother of the artist and his teacher Hubert van Eyck (1370-1426).

Portrait of the Arnolfinis, 1434, National Gallery, London
Clickable - 3087px × 4226px

Jan van Eyck's exact date of birth is unknown. Born in the Northern Netherlands in Maaseik. He studied with his older brother Hubert, with whom he worked until 1426. He began his career in The Hague at the court of the Dutch counts. From 1425 he was an artist and courtier of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip III the Good, who appreciated him as an artist and generously paid for his work. In 1427-1428. as part of the ducal embassy, ​​Jan van Eyck went to Spain, then to Portugal. In 1427 he visited Tournai, where he was received with honor by the local guild of artists. Probably met with Robert Campin, or saw his work. He worked in Lille and Ghent, in 1431 he bought a house in Bruges and lived there until his death.

Van Eyck is considered the inventor of oil paints, although in fact he only improved them. But it was after him that oil gained general recognition, oil technology became traditional for the Netherlands; in the 15th century came to Germany and France, and from there to Italy.

Portrait of the Arnolfini couple, detail of a mirror on the wall, 1434

Van Eyck's largest and most famous work is the Ghent Altarpiece, probably begun by his brother Hubert. Jan van Eyck completed it on commission from the wealthy Ghent burgher Jodoc Veidt for his family chapel in 1422-1432. This is a grandiose multi-tiered polyptych of 24 paintings depicting 258 human figures.

Jan van Eyck's masterpieces include the Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, as well as a portrait of a merchant, a representative of the Medici banking house, Giovanni Arnolfini with his wife - the so-called "Portrait of the Arnolfinis".

He had several students, among them - Petrus Christus.

“According to universal recognition, the most daring discoveries, which marked a turning point in the artistic development (of humanity), belong to the painter Jan van Eyck (1385/90 - 1441). His greatest creation is a multi-leaf altar (polyptych) for the cathedral in Ghent. E. Gombrich "History of Art".

Annunciation, 1420

Diptych - Crucifixion and Last Judgment, 1420-1425

Portrait of a man with a ring, circa 1430

Saint Francis of Assisi, Stigmatization, circa 1432

Lam Godsretabel, Mystic Lamb, Agneau Mystique, Der Genter Altar (Lammanbetung), Políptico de Gante (El Políptico de la Adoración del Cordero Místico). 1432

Ghent Altarpiece, God Jesus, 1432

Ghent altarpiece, God Jesus, garment detail, 1432

Ghent Altarpiece, Maria, 1432

Ghent Altarpiece, John the Baptist, detail, 1432

Ghent altarpiece (Outer panel, Archangel), 1432

Ghent Altarpiece (Outer panel, John the Evangelist, detail), 1432

Ghent altarpiece, Eve, detail, head, 1432

Ghent Altarpiece, Adam, detail, head, 1432

Ghent Altarpiece, Women Going to Worship the Lamb, 1432

Ghent Altarpiece, Jews and Gentiles, 1432

Ghent Altarpiece, Angels, 1432

Ghent Altarpiece, Angels, detail, 1432

Ghent Altarpiece, Adoration of the Lamb, detail, 1432

Portrait of a man in a turban, 1433 (possibly self-portrait)

Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini, circa 1435

Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, 1435

Madonna of Chancellor Rolin, detail, 1435

Madonna of Canon Georg van der Pale, 1436

Madonna of Canon Georg van der Pale, detail of Saint George and the Donor, 1436

Saint Barbara, 1437

Madonna and Child in a Church, circa 1438

Portrait of Margaret van Eyck, 1439

Saint Jerome, 1442

Fully

Jan van Eyck

A crane wedge - not a battle wedge - Merges into the autumn glow. The altar shines over the whole earth, Uniting all the signs and signs. To reduce all altars to one altar! The air is densely mixed with our life. Thank heavens for joy and for the spirit of the terrible events of the Arc. A desecrated altar is a powerless temple. And a person is ground by reality - With dull millstones of miserable dramas. And work and hunger come together in battle. The heart of the altar shines amber, Invisibly

From the canvas of van Eyck we will descend, To move again on the road. Any of us is attracted by the love of God All-consuming. Bypassing Mecca, Lourdes and Rome, We go to the spiritual limits - Any luggage drags the body: We have to reckon with it. Bypassing the cemetery, where the Leaders, robbers, heroes sleep, We go forward (what if we go back? It would be a shame, I will not hide it). Bypassing the luxury of cities, Where there are restaurants, bars, rings, At stadiums - a terrible roar, In libraries - books, books.

Jan van Eyck (circa 1390-1441), Dutch painter. One of the founders of the art of the Early Renaissance in the Netherlands, Jan van Eyck in 1422-1424 worked on the decoration of the count's castle in The Hague, in 1425 he became the court painter of the Duke of Burgundy Philip the Good, in 1427 he visited Spain, in 1428-1429 - Portugal. Around 1430, Jan van Eyck settled in Bruges. The largest work of van Eyck is the famous "Ghent Altarpiece", begun, according to a later inscription on the outer wings, by van Eyck's elder brother Hubert (he worked in the 1420s in Ghent, died about 1426) and finished by Jan in 1432. Jan van Eyck is one one of the first masters of the portrait in Europe, who stood out in his work as an independent genre. Bust, usually depicting a model in a three-quarter turn, portraits of van Eyck (“Timothy”, 1432, “Portrait of a man in a red turban”, 1433, both in the National Gallery, London; portrait of the artist’s wife Margareta, 1439, Municipal Art Gallery, Bruges) are distinguished strict simplicity and sophistication of expressive means. The impartially truthful and careful transfer of the appearance of a person is subordinated in them to a vigilant and penetrating disclosure of the main features of his character. Jan van Eyck created the first paired portrait in European painting - an image of the merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife imbued with complex symbolism and at the same time with an intimate and lyrical feeling. The problem of the participation of the artist Hubert van Eyck in the work on the altar remains open: according to most researchers, he could only begin work on the central part of the altar, but in general the work was executed by Jan van Eyck. Despite the presence of archaic, Gothic features in a number of scenes of the altar, the “Ghent Altarpiece” opened a new era in the development of the art of the Netherlands. Complex religious symbolism is translated into concrete, vitally convincing and tangible images. With exceptional realism and unvarnished expressiveness, the naked figures of Adam and Eve are depicted on the outer doors of the altar. The figures of singing and playing angels on the side panels are distinguished by a convincing plastic tangibility. The landscape backgrounds in the “Adoration of the Lamb” scene in the center of the altar stand out with subtle poetry, mastery of the transfer of space and light-air environment. The pinnacle of van Eyck's work is the monumental altar compositions “Madonna of Chancellor Rolin” (circa 1436, Louvre, Paris) and “Madonna of Canon van der Pale” (1436, Municipal Art Gallery, Bruges). Developing and enriching the achievements of his predecessors, primarily R. Campin, he turns the traditional scene of worship of the Mother of God into a majestic and colorful image of the visible, real world, full of calm contemplation. The artist is equally interested in the person in all his unique individuality, and the world around him. In his compositions, portraits, landscapes, interiors, and still lifes act as equals and form a harmonious unity. The extreme thoroughness and at the same time the generalization of painting reveal the inherent value and beauty of each object, which in van Eyck's work acquires real weight and volume, a characteristic surface texture. Details and the whole are in an organic relationship: architectural elements, furnishings, flowering plants, luxurious fabrics adorned with precious stones, as if embody particles of the infinite beauty of the universe: a panoramic landscape full of light and air in the “Madonna of Chancellor Rolen” is perceived as a collective image Universe. Van Eyck's art is imbued with a deep understanding of existence as a logical embodiment of God's providence, the expression of which was a strict, thoughtful and at the same time vitally natural construction of the composition, full of a subtle sense of spatial proportion. The solution of the creative problems facing van Eyck required the development of new means of artistic expression. One of the first he mastered the plastic possibilities of oil painting, using thin, translucent layers of paint, laid one on top of the other (the Flemish manner of multi-layered transparent painting). This pictorial method allowed van Eyck to achieve exceptional depth, richness and luminosity of color, subtlety of light and shade and colorful transitions. The sonorous, intense, pure tones of colors in van Eyck's paintings, permeated with air and light, form a single harmonious whole.
The work of the artist van Eyck, which most vividly recreated the beauty and living diversity of the universe, to a large extent determined the paths for the further development of Netherlandish painting, the range of its problems and interests. The powerful influence of van Eyck's art was experienced not only by the Dutch, but also by the Italian masters of the Renaissance (Antonello da Messina). http://smallbay.ru/vaneyck.html Quote from EIVA26 Read in full To your quote pad or community!
Jan van Eyck

Jan van Eyck is an outstanding Dutch painter, one of the founders of the art of the Early Northern Renaissance. The term "artnova" - a new art borrowed from the history of music - very accurately defines the art of the Netherlands in the first half of the 15th century. Not the revival of antiquity, as in Italy, but independent, intuitive and religious-mystical knowledge of the world formed the basis of a new northern European culture. Man is not the pinnacle of creation, but only one of the evidences of the power of the Creator. Heaven and earth, plants and animals, man himself and his creations - everything deserves reverent attention. And this feeling of the divine preciousness of everyday life, living in the work of Jan van Eyck, served in many ways as the starting point for the development of realism in the history of European painting.

The date of birth of the artist should, in all likelihood, be attributed to the first half of the 1390s; its homeland is traditionally considered the city of Maaseik in the Dutch province of Limburg. The first lessons of skill, again presumably, Jan was obliged to his older brother Hubert.

By 1422, when the name van Eyck was first mentioned in documents, he was already a well-known painter in the service of John of Bavaria, Count of Holland, Zeeland and Gennegau, whose court was located in The Hague. After the death of John of Bavaria, the famous master left Holland and settled in Flanders. In the spring of 1425, in Bruges, he was accepted into the service of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, "with all honors, privileges, freedoms, rights and benefits." In the same year the artist moved to Lille.

By the nature of his service, or perhaps because of special trust, Van Eyck was twice sent by a powerful ruler on "a kind of secret journey." In 1427, he left for Spain and then to Portugal, along with Philip's ambassadors, whose task was to arrange a marriage between the widower-duke and the Portuguese princess Isabella. Fulfilling the mission assigned to him, the artist painted two portraits of the bride and sent them to his master along with draft marriage contract. At the beginning of 1430, Van Eyck returned safely to Flanders with a wedding cortege.

Not later than 1426, Madonna in the Church was written - one of Van Eyck's early works. Like most of his works, the painting seems to glow from within, giving rise to a feeling of sublime joy. Such a striking effect of internal glow was achieved by layering oil paint on a white gypsum primer, carefully sanded and varnished.

Here we need to dwell a little on the artist's discovery, which gave impetus to the rapid spread of oil painting techniques throughout Europe. The fact is that Jan van Eyck has long been considered the inventor of oil paints. This is not entirely true. Coloring compositions based on vegetable oils were known as early as the 12th century, but they were not popular: they dried for a long time, often faded and cracked. Many artists sought to improve the old recipes. Only Van Eyck, somewhere around 1410, found that magical formula that made paints dry quickly, allowing the painter to apply them in dense or transparent layers without fear of mixing. Now they could be endlessly varied in color, achieving previously unseen shades. And most importantly, a thin oil film like a lens simultaneously reflected the incident light and absorbed it, creating the very effect of the inner radiance of the picture.

The new possibilities of oil painting helped the Van Eyck brothers to create the Ghent Altarpiece - one of the greatest pictorial monuments in Europe of the 15th century. Work on it was apparently started around 1422 by Hubert, and after his death in 1426 continued by his younger brother. The history of writing and the fate of the Ghent Altarpiece, like any masterpiece, is full of mysteries and dramatic events. First of all, researchers are haunted by the question of the authors of the work. The inscription on its frame stating that the work “was started by the artist Hubert van Eyck, who cannot be higher”, and finished by his brother Jan, “second in art”, was made only in the 16th century. and does not inspire much confidence.

There is an assumption that the word “artist” should be read as “sculptor” and it refers to the carver who completed the framing, in connection with which the bold hypothesis of K. Woll and E. Renders was born: was there Hubert? Or is it just a legend invented to give the main role in the creation of the altar to a resident of Ghent? However, what then to do with archival evidence of the life and death of Hubert van Eyck? With all the variety of points of view on the role of each of the brothers in the creation of the Ghent Altar, none of them seems convincing enough. In any case, most of the work was completed many years after the death of the elder brother.

The Ghent altarpiece is unique. It is a grandiose multi-tiered polyptych, reaching in the central part three and a half meters in height and five meters wide when opened. Even if Jan van Eyck had not created anything else in his life, he would still go down in history as the author of the Ghent Altarpiece. In 1432, the work was completed, and the warehouse took its place in the church of St. John the Baptist (now the Cathedral of St. Bavo).

The period of the highest creative maturity of Jan van Eyck fell on the 1430s. By this time, the artist moved from Lille to Bruges, bought a house "with a stone facade", and soon got married. In 1434, Duke Philip III became the godfather of the first of Jan's ten children and, in connection with the birth of his son, presented him with six silver bowls as a gift.

Take a look at van Eyck's work filled with life and light. It seems that the gems and precious metals in his paintings are real and glow with an inner light. His paints are so transparent that the works have a unique, almost luminous sheen.

Since 1432, the works of the master follow one after another: the so-called "Timothy" (1432), "The Man in a Turban" (1433), a small panel "Madonna and Child" (1433), etc.

Jan van Eyck was the first who began to create portraits, pursuing the goal of the most accurate reproduction of the individual appearance of the model and the analytical study of human nature with its various signs and properties. The surviving portraits testify to his insight and high respect for human individuality.

The portrait of the Arnolfini couple (1434), considered the first paired portrait in the history of European painting, is another undeniable masterpiece of Van Eyck. The Italian merchant is depicted holding the hand of his young wife at the moment of solemn marital oath in the presence of two witnesses, whose reflections are visible in a round mirror hanging on the wall - a symbol of God's all-seeing eye. The inscription on the wall "Jan van Eyck was here" suggests that the artist was present at this old Netherlandish custom of betrothal at home. The ceremony is performed in the holy of holies of the burgher's house in the bedroom, where all things have a hidden meaning, hinting at the sacredness of the marital vow and the family hearth.

In the altar composition “Madonna of Chancellor Rolin” (c. 1436) - the adviser to Philip the Good, Nicholas Rolin, a rich and powerful man who achieved a high position thanks to his merits (a rare case in the feudal world). Nicholas Rolin knelt before the Queen of Heaven and accepts blessing of the Christ child. A most beautiful landscape opens up through the loggia, the first panoramic landscape in European art, giving a broad picture of the life of the earth and mankind. The earthly and divine worlds come face to face in this work of the master, full of deep symbolism.

Jan van Eyck addressed the theme of Our Lady many times. In The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, van Eyck depicts Mary with the child enthroned in a Romanesque church surrounded by Saints Donatian and George representing the old canon. His portrait strikes with a deep penetration into the very essence of the character. In all the details of the picture, van Eyck achieves the impression of the greatest materiality and material tangibility.

All van Eyck's images are based on a drawing, often drawn from life. A striking example of the artist's graphic skill is "St. Barbara" is the subject of long disputes between scientists who have not come to a consensus whether this work is a finished drawing or an unwritten picture. The silvery drawing was made with the finest brush on a primed board, inserted into the author's frame with the inscription: "Joann van Eyck made me in 1437."

The artist died on July 9, 1441 in Bruges, the city that became his native, and was buried "in the fence" of the Church of St. Donatian. Only a year later, his relatives managed to rebury his body, already inside the church, near the font.

Jan van Eyck was one of the greatest geniuses, whose work, full of great spiritual power and depth of ideas, became a source for the development of the art of the Netherlands and other European countries. Van Eyck's original motto "As I can" merged the humility and dignity inherent in both the artist himself and all his work.

"The Man in the Turban"

"Portrait of the Arnolfinis"

Crucifixion, Judgment Day.

"Ghent altar"

"Madonna of Chancellor Rolin"

"Madonna of Canon van der Pale"