Description
Arnolfini Portrait, an oil painting on oak wood by Jan Van Eyck from Italy, 1434. The size of the painting is 321/4” X 231/2”. Currently display at National Gallery, London.
Erwin Panofsky, an art historian, believes that the characters of the painting is either Italian Merchant, Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini and his wife, Giovanna Cenami, or, his brother Michele and his wife, or, his three cousins Battista, Bartolomeo and Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini with their wife. The female on the right hand side wearing a green wool dress which trimmed with fur, and a blue damask gown, is 45° orientation, while the male on the left hand side wearing a purple tabard with a hat of plaited straw dyed black, body orientation is almost direct facing to us. Both figures are standing straight and holding their hand with each other, show a serious face expression as well. From the middle part of this painting, the upper side is hanging a golden chandelier with one lighted candle, below is convex mirror, beside the mirror is a hanging brush, the centre is a red chair, and lower part has a carpet and a dog known as Brussels griffon. Left side of the male figure show a cherry tree outside the window with some orange below. There are two pair of removed shoes called patten which are at the left corner of the room and another one below the red chair. The right hand side show a red bed. There is a signature of artist on the wall behind.
The painting contains most of the vertical lines, such as window, floor, bed yarn, human standing pose, showing a serious and still mood. While the figures and the dog shows organic line and shape. It is a 3D value, which can see the light from the window, the face and hands are the high key part. The dog, clothe, chair and the bed have show stimulated texture. The warm colours of this painting are orange, yellow green, red, yellow and brown; while cold colours include violet, blue and blue purple. There are also complimentary colours between the green clothe and red bed which have make a contrast eye-catching.
Judgement
In the imitative part, Erwin Panofsky argues this painting showing a marriage, while Edwin Hall said it is an engagement. The figures showed in the painting is a couple, we can indentify from the way they pose, male stand near to window while female stand near the bed, this consider as gender role, which male is work outside, female is caretaker. From the women headdress, we can say that she is married, because non-married lady will put down their hair according to Margaret Carroll. The surrounding subjects have show the sign of wealth of this couple, such as orange, fruit is expensive during that period, and also the golden chandelier, carpet, dog, clothing, the more cloth a person wore, the more wealthy he or she is.
For emotionalism part, there are some symbols show in this painting, for example cherries symbolize love, orange symbolize purity according to Erwin Panofsky, or wealth, removed shoes symbolize love or sexual passion in seventeenth century Dutch art by Craig Harbison, the statue of St Margaret shows the desire to fertility revealed by Panofsky and Harbison, candle symbolizes love and sexual union, or symbol of his husband, the only lighted candle on the male side contrast with the burn out candle on female side, in a metaphor literature lighted candle means he is live on, candle wax means she is dead. The painting might be a remembrance of his dead wife, another example is the mirror, it can interprets as God’s promise of salvation, or on the other hand, the frame of the mirror show the tiny scene from Passion of Christ, all the scene on wife’s side are Christ’s death and resurrection, while on the husband’s side are Christ’s life. The dog symbolizes loyalty or lust, the desire to have a child. The brush represents domestic care.
Move to functionalism part, Panofsky claim that artist paint this as a legal document to record a marriage according to the artist’s signature on the wall behind. The painting also functions as a gift for exhibit in the castle of Carlos II, the last Habsburg King of Spain.
