Jan Van Eyck Double Portrait Analysis

The halo looks to have been carved into the wood and then painted with a little bit of sun gold to heighten its appearance. The lesser portion of the painting has a dark brown color which might have being painted or made from a different type of wood. The base on which the painting stands is painted in dark brown and looks very firm. On the left and right of the arch there are blue colors meant to depict the skies filled with yellow stars. This depiction of the skies is said to be where God the Father resides. In the painting, there are three life like images that are clearly visible. The first one as illustrated in order of importance is God the Father who sits on his thrown that of a chair made from gold. His hair is long down to his shoulders; and he his fully garbed in a mixture of red, white and black being the dominant color. His garments are lined with gold colors and matches his long beard. God the Father hands are partially extended in front of him holding up a wooden cross which displays God the Son.

Jan van Eyck was born during c. 1935 in Maaseik, Bishopric of Liege, the Renaissance period. He had a sister Margareta, and at least two brothers, Hubert (died 1426) and Lambert was active between 1431 and 1442 (Both of them were also painters). Yet the order of their births is not known. Another significant, and rather younger, painter who worked in Southern France, Barthélemy van Eyck, is presumed to be a relation. It is not known where Jan was educated, but he had knowledge of Latin and used the Greek and Hebrew alphabets in many of the inscriptions, indicating that he was schooled in the classics. (From Wikipedia) The first ever record of Eyck is from the court of John of Bavaria at The Hague, where payments were made to Jan van Eyck between 1422 and 1424 as court painter, with the court rank of valet de chambre. This suggests a date of birth

In Artwork 1, Mary is placed in the centre of the image between Christ who is on the left and God who is on the right. The Holy Spirit is between the two which forms the Holy Trinity. The composition can be viewed as forming an inverted triangle or heart shape. Mary is the focal figure with an attitude of modesty, reverence and tranquil emotion with her right hand placed upon her heart in which reinforces this. God is expressed as a picture of wisdom as He is crowning the head of Mary with a garland of roses, along side Jesus. The Holy Spirit is present in the image above Mary and is portrayed in the traditional form of a white dove. Cherubs, angelic beings, are visible at the base of the painting which can be interpreted as guards. The use of blue in their garments symbolising heavenly grace in

At the council, 338 members met to rule on the use of images to depict religious figures and ideas. This assembly, including Emperor Constantine and Leo, rules that “the unlawful art of painting living creatures blasphemed the fundamental doctrine of our salvation—namely, the Incarnation of Christ, and contradicted the six holy synods” (Iconoclastic Council, 1). The Iconoclastic Council bans the use of images and pictures to depict religious ideologies and figures because they feared that worshippers honored the image over the actual person, place, or thing represented. To support their argument, the council recalls the Holy Book in which God states, “Thou shall not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath…They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,…and served the creature more than the Creator” (2). Unlike John, this council uses stronger textual evidence from the Holy Book in order to validate their argument against icons. Furthermore, they argued that “folly” painter constructed the icons to undermine the icons. Council members aimed to demonstrate the icons as evil creations because religious affiliates did not construct them. Nevertheless, the council banned all images, relics, and other representations of

Both paintings represent the Madonna (the Virgin Mary) with the baby Jesus on her lap. In the previous painting, the arch vault and throne on which the mother is seated is stylized very realistically along with the saints surrounding them are all in proportion to themselves and to each other. In the later painting the pose of the Madonna is elongated and exaggerated, the baby in the later painting is quite large and the angels in the picture are crammed to one side with a "prophet" on the opposite which is very small not coming up to the Madonna's knee.

In Jan van Eyck’s painting wedding portrait there are a lot of symbols that show something sacred is going on. Such as wearing no shoes, it shows they are on holy ground. Along with they are in their bedroom chambers instead of in a church which means they are there to consummate their marriage and are hopeful for many children which is what the woman is already showing hopefulness by resting her hand on her stomach. Another few things that I found interesting is the single candle lit in the chandelier even though its clearly daylight, it’s supposed to symbolize divine presence and the oranges in the windowsill and on the chest, it’s said they are the golden apples of Hesperides which is said to being a representation the conquest of death.

His frustration is visible in the expression on his face. He appears tired of her bothering him about it, hence the hand. The child is showing a lot of white which can represent faith, I think the artist did this to say that the baby is giving the family faith because they are trying to provide for their child and in order to do that they need to be able to put food on the table which won’t just only help the baby but them as a whole. The woman may also symbolize strength that’s why the artist made her dress and lipstick red; she’s fiery. She may help the husband maintain his sanity no matter how many problems they are going through as a family.

In terms of subject matter, both works are visual depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In each painting, Christ is the central figure, surrounded by two groups of figures. On the left, a group of women that includes the Virgin Mary mourns over the dead body of Christ, while on the right is a group of soldiers and other lamenters. Both works feature a rocky landscape on which the figures are positioned. Encircling Christ are several angels whose gestures of lamentation echo those of the figures below. Highlighting the severity of each scene is the blood that pours from Jesus' wounds. The blood from his feet drips onto human bones that are embedded in the rocky terrain below. The skull serves as a "memento mori," or a reminder of death, an idea that has been repeated in several other depictions of Christ's crucifixion.

In the painting Christ’s position shows his willingness and ability to heal the elderly man. His left hand is lifted the shelter of cloth the man is under, literally shows that Christ can lift the sick and heal them or can lift the burdens which befall them. Christ’s right-hand gesture is inviting and shows his love and willingness to help toward the elderly man. The elderly man’s hands are starting to reach up towards Christ, trusting and accepting his help.

The painting pictures a white house with a road in front of it, and more than halfway down the road is two figures and they appear to be black. They are cradled together to signify unity and that they are going to do this together. I believe that is one of the messages that this painting is trying to tell its audience is that you can’t do this on your own you have to do it with somebody. The black figures appear to be looking down at each other as if to confirm that this is the right decision because there is no going

Van Eyck pursued a career at two courts. Working for John of Bavaria, count of Hainaut-Holland, and then was made court painter and valet de chambre to Duke Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, the most powerful ruler and foremost patron of the arts in Flanders (Pioch). Employment at court secured him a high social standing which was very unusual for a painter, as well as artistic independence from the painters’ guild of Bruges. Many aspects of his work were intended to promote his personal reputation and abilities, which he accomplished by signing and dating his pictures (also

All the figures in the painting have different expressions on their faces. For example Mr. Columbus starrs dirrectly at the group of coucil men sitting infront of him to convince them of the new world he had discovered. He stands infront of the crowd, looking like a honorable man, with his chesting bulsging out and his right footing pointing forward. His left hand is holding a map, while the right firmly points at it. There is a concil man sitted next to where Christopher stands, looks down at the map to validate Mr. Columbus agruement. There are three figures standing on the left excluding the king and his guides. These men seem so suppresed by what Columbus is telling them, that one of them grab the other firmly on the shoulder to perheps ask him how all of it is possible. The king on the other hand opens his month wide in disbelieve and his hands lift up at about a 30 degree angle, as if he was attempting to stop Columbus from fabricating more lies. On the far right of the painting, there is a boy with what appears to be a map that he is showing two men on his right.; they both starr at it while the other lean forward with his hand placed under his chin. Human drama remains me of Giotto style in Italy 1400-1500. He was the first artists to incoporate human drama into his work by including little details of gustures and emotions. This very artist was great at expressing different types of emotions on the faces

The couple's outfits are thick and even have fur, although the painting suggests that it is spring or summer, due to the amount of sunlight entering from the window and the fresh oranges (most oranges are harvest during the spring). The furniture and the drapery is impressive, and the oranges themselves are rare and are therefore a symbol of wealth. The painting also illustrates the relationship between the two subjects through various objects. The painting suggests that the subjects are married. There is a dog in between the couple, which represents loyalty. Both characters have rings on their ring fingers, which suggests that they are both married. Also, the painting shows that both characters have removed their shoes, which implies that they are standing on holy ground, such as Moses was when speaking to god through a burning bush in the bible. The reason they are on holy ground is because a holy ceremony has taken place, that is, a wedding. Notice the characters' body language is composed of the dominant husband and the submissive wife. There is also various references to the newlywed couple's intentions of starting a family. Not only does the wife's attire exaggerate her belly, making her seem as if she were pregnant, but behind here there is a statue of Saint Margaret, the saint of childbirth and fertility. When the individual objects of this painting are viewed as a whole, the message becomes clear. Jan van

paintings often displayed in the Bible. You can see it is a man and a woman, very likely

The painting known as the Wedding Portrait, created by Jan Van Eyck, is illustrated in dark colors, with some light colors. The main objects in this painting is both the man and women. The man known as Giovanni Arnolfini, and his fiancé, who represent marriage. The women is touching her stomach, as if she will be expecting to be pregnant. In addition, shoes are taken by the couple, demonstrating they are on the holy ground. On the other hand, the dog symbolizes faithfulness. Divine presence is shown, when only one candle is burning, and there is a control of death shown by the fruits shown by the window. While, in the painting called, the Aztec Marriage Couple, showcases unity in the couple by the wedding knot. There is also a codex, which