Blog Arnolfini

Jan Van Eyck 

I have always loved The Arnolfini Wedding Portrait by Jan Van Eyck but known little about it though I have admired it several times over the years in the National Gallery, London, its owner since 1842. By chance, I recently read a small entry in The 500 Hidden Secrets of Bruges by Derek Blyth published last October, which included 5 Famous Foreigners in Bruges. The first famous man was Giovanni Arnolfini and I immediately thought of the portrait and my interest was fired!

I had never connected the portrait with Brugge despite it being the city of Jan Van Eyck so I was delighted to discover that it was almost certainly painted here in 1434, probably in the Arnolfini house of that time. Effectively comprising two full-length portraits, the couple is shown in an upstairs room with a chest and a bed, during a day in early summer, indicated by the fruit on the cherry tree outside the window. The two figures are richly dressed; despite the season, both his tabard, probably of silk velvet, and her dress, are trimmed and lined with fur; his doublet partially hidden beneath the tabard is of silk damask. Her dress has elaborate dragging [cloth folded then sewn together then cut and frayed decoratively] on the sleeves while the green of her outer dress symbolises hope, possibly the hope of her becoming a mother. Her blue under-dress is trimmed with white fur. The whole painting radiates wealth, privilege and elegance. Although many viewers assume the wife to be pregnant, this was probably, simply a fashionable look for women’s dresses at the time. Fashion would have been important for Arnolfini as a cloth merchant as would the popular conceit that the more cloth the subject of a painting wore, the more wealthy she was assumed to be. Giovanna's dress uses copious amounts of cloth!

The unmistakeable wealth of the clothes is echoed in the room’s interior. Furnishings include a large and elaborate brass chandelier; a convex mirror framed in wood which is decorated with symbols behind glass; elaborate bed-hangings and carvings on chair and bench; a small Oriental carpet.
Though Arnolfini was a cloth merchant, the oranges in the side may have indicated that he also dealt in these expensive fruits. One purpose of this painting is to demonstrate the prosperity and wealth of the couple but there are several conjectures as to its main celebration.

1. It might record the wedding of the couple, Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his bride, Giovanna 

    Cenami.

2. Or it could be a pictorial record of the making of a contract between an already-married couple, giving the wife the authority to act on her husband’s behalf in business dealings. This view is supported by Arnolfini’s raised right hand and his taking of his wife’s hand as a gesture of consent.

3. Giovanni’s first wife, Costanza Trenta, had died, probably in childbirth, in February 1433. The painting could therefore represent an unusual memorial portrait showing one living and one dead, person. Details such as the snuffed candle in the scenes after Christ’s death on her side of the

background roundel and the black garb of the man, support this view. The single lit candle on Giovanni’s side contrasting with the wax stub on her side, evokes a common literary metaphor: he lives; she is dead. There is also a tiny carved figure on a finial on the bedpost, probably of Saint Margaret, patron saint of pregnancy and childbirth, who was invoked to assist women in labour and to cure infertility.

Details.

 Jan Van Eyck was here 1434

The Convex Mirror

The small medallions set in the frame of the mirror show tiny scenes from the Passion of Christ and may represent God’s promise of salvation for the figures reflected in the mirror. Indeed the mirror itself may represent the eye of God observing the oath-taking ceremony. There are two figures reflected in the mirror one of whom is almost certainly the artist, a friend of Arnolfini, and these two could readily be considered as witnesses to the oath-taking. Jan Van Eyck provides additional authentication with his signature writ large upon the wall.

The Little Dog

The little dog symbolises fidelity but may also be a lap-dog. Lap-dogs were fashionable accoutrements and companions for ladies at Court but this little chap, cheerfully meeting the gaze of the viewer, also reflects the wealth of the couple and their position at court.

The Status of The Painting

The Arnolfini Portrait is considered one the most original and complex paintings in Western art because of its beauty, its complex iconography, its geometric perspective and the skill demonstrated in the expansion of the painted space with the use of one convex mirror. Van Eyck’s use of direct and diffuse light also help to evoke space in this domestic interior. Whatever meanings are attributed to the scene and its details, the painting “is the only fifteenth century Northern panel to survive in which the artist’s contemporaries are shown in some sort of action in a contemporary interior. It is indeed tempting to call this the first genre painting – a painting of everyday life – of modern times.” [Craig Harbison]

The figures in the mirror are

astonishingly visible.

Aperitif Concert following the Wintervonken light-fest

More splendid free outdoor entertainment on Friday and Saturday evenings on the Burg with the annual fire-fest, Wintervonken. Last year’s I saw quite by chance and was bowled over with what was effectively an airborne, tree-top level outdoor cycling circus! I loved it and hastened along last Saturday evening to sample the latest show. It was indeed special though without the heart-stopping extravagance of last year’s show.. It involved a spectacular cavalcade of lights across the facade of the 14^th century Stadhuis. But that doesn’t begin to describe the sinuous shapes and patterns which chased each other across the mediaeval brick-scape provided. Many swirling, curving serpentine lines of light involved in a continuous interplay with following lights which swept and

swooped. It was a fascinating, monumental kaleidoscope which eventually gave way to an impressive procession of moving light-shapes which became, momentarily, fantastic monsters, fluid animals, goblins, warriors. Astonishing that somehow, the large, blue-lit box high in the sky on top of a giant cherry picker could somehow be programmed or controlled to produce the phantasmagoria on the face of the stately Town Hall. Astonishing. The large standing audience seemed enchanted particularly the family groups with children transfixed by the intriguing spectacle. Great applause at the end for Vincent Glowinski and his assistants who had staged the ‘Human Brush’ display so brilliantly.

Brilliant fire-cauldrons, Art Nouveau in

design, clustered under the trees on the Burg.

On the area of the Burg below the trees, near the statue, Les Amoureux, was a splendid winter terrace courtesy of the Fire Masters. Lots of benches grouped around points of fire; some like bonfires on the ground; others contained in large almost stained glass dishes suspended in the air. Despite the winter cold, the terrace was warm and inviting with convivial groups, including lots of families, drinking and chatting and fire-gazing. A group nearby was tuning up in preparation for a concert later.

A youthful Sam de Troyer

And to make a Burg-centred perfect weekend, the next morning came the third Negen Muzen Aperitiefconcerts in the current season, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, and one celebrating the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the Negen Muzen. There are four annual concerts between October and February with a wide variety of musical talent and content, but the 'En Route' offering on Sunday was particularly  special. Jacques Vandervelde, not only a well-known harpist par excellence but a composer and harp-maker too, performed with Sam De Troyer, a fluid guitar player. Sam is fascinated by the tango, Flamenco and South American music while Jacques is in love with the music of Paraguay and Venezuela where the harp is the national instrument. Through the harp music, he has become engrossed with the national cultures of which the harp is such an important element. So the Sunday programme went with a swing and a pronounced Latin American accent. The final Instant Improvisations by the two musicians was especially enchanting.

Jacques Vandevelde

POST SCRIPT

Memo to self: Stop banging on about Brexit!!

Last night, much self-important activity in the Houses of Parliament with seven Brexit amendments to be voted on and the only one which managed a clear majority [though several came near] was the one about the Irish back stop. The P..M. was instructed to go back to dear Michel Barnier to ask for a different solution to the impasse with the Irish Border. In fact, it is the one thing which the E.U. has reiterated many times that the present arrangement will not change. In other words, in spite of a majority of the House being unwilling to countenance a 'No Deal' Brexit, the only majority was for a course of action designed to bring a no deal nearer. The Theresa-in-Wonderland scenario defies belief and is unbelievably embarrassing for/to Brits living in Europe. Let alone those living in Britain. Memo to Theresa: stop putting all your energy into trying to achieve the impossible; uniting the Conservative Party on Europe. It is irredeemiably split.