Nishant Grover AP Art History 1/3/2011 Jan van Eyck (1390-1441) was a Flemish painter of the Northern Renaissance

period. Born in the Netherlands, van Eyck rose to prominence as a prolific painter and master of oil paint. In fact, van Eyck understood and painted oils better than most of his contemporaries, so much so that he is known as the father of oil painting. Three of van Eycks most famous works are The Ghent Altarpiece, Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride and Man in a Red Turban. These paintings each have a different them and message which all come together to show the progression of van Eyck as a person and an artist. The first work is The Ghent Altarpiece, which is an oil on wood that was completed in 1432 and is located in the Saint Bavo Cathedral of Ghent, Belgium. The influence of the donor, which is the Chief Magistrate of Ghent, is apparent on the outside of the closed altarpiece where two exterior panels contain the magistrate and his wife kneeling in prayer to Saints John the Baptist, to whom the church was dedicated, and the Evangelist. The opened altarpiece shows many panels that explain the medieval concept of humanitys Redemption. In the center of the upper register is God, dressed in red, with the Virgin Mary to his right and St. John the Baptist to his left. The depictions of these holy figures and the inscriptions written about their divinity and generosity add to the altarpieces central theme of salvation. The central panel of the lower register depicts four groups of people advancing towards the altar of the Lamb, representing Christ, and an octagonal fountain of life. All of the panels in this work celebrate the whole Christian cycle from the Fall to the Redemption. Each panel expresses vivid colors and tonalities, which come from van Eycks training as a miniaturist and the oil painting technique of glazes. The technical aspects of this work as well as the theme it

espouses is the beginning of van Eycks progression as an artist and a person, with The Ghent Altarpiece highlighting his religious stage. The next work is Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride. This is another oil on wood finished in 1434. In this painting, van Eyck shows the sanctity of marriage through every object in the room. Examples of this central theme are the dog, which represent fidelity, and the oranges near the window, which represent fertility. Not only is there a strong religious influence in this work but also a cultural influence since the objects represent Flemish marriage customs. For example, the clogs in the bottom left corner were a customary gift the groom gave to his bride. Also, this work portrays the gender roles in Flemish culture, with the woman near the bed to show her domesticated nature while the man is positioned near the window since he provides for his family. The many technical aspects in Giovanni such as the texture of the sunlight striking various objects or the convex mirror on the far wall that shows two visitors in the room make this scene more credible. The detail in this work and the story it conveys highlight the second phase of van Eycks progression as an artist, which is his secular-religious stage. The next work is Man in a Red Turban. This is another oil on wood and a possible selfportrait of van Eyck. Also, the theme is that the image of a living individual requires no religious purpose for being, only a personal one. By painting this work, van Eyck wanted to find himself as a person. Portraiture allowed him to do so since it did away with the anonymity and solemnity of Middle Age art. Portraiture also evolved in the Renaissance since it was used by nobility, royalty and the rich to represent themselves at functions or for arranged marriage purposes and to show power and the evolution of a dynastic line. While van Eycks portrait is much simpler, it still posses technical prowess in the face with very apparent veins, stubble on the chin and aged skin. The gaze that the subject has is very chilling yet has a mysterious edge to it. The

combination of meticulous design in a work that showcases an individual highlights the final phase of van Eycks progression, which is his secular stage. By mastering the art of oil painting, Jan van Eyck made a name for himself in the Northern Renaissance movement. He started working on purely religious themes but his talent and work matured over time, eventually incorporating secular themes. Eventually, he began to do work that had no religious connotation whatsoever. By not following the status quo, van Eyck has remained popular and well studied by art historians and connoisseurs.

Works Cited

Campbell, Lorne, The Fifteenth Century Netherlandish Paintings, London: National Gallery, 1998 Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. 11th ed. Orlando: Hartcourt College Publishers, 2001. 567-79. Print.