Jan Van Eyck (IKE) was born in the Netherlands.
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His paintings are very detailed. He was not the first
to use oil
paint, but he perfected the use
of oil in paints. The colors in his paintings are delicate and have a
beautiful shine. He was called "The King of Painters" by people even
hundreds of years after his time.
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The painting we are studying; The Arnolfini
Marriage , is
a record of the marriage of the two people in the picture.
In modern days, a couple would hire a photographer to record their
wedding. Giovanni Arnolfini hired an artist to paint the picture.
In addition to being a portrait, it is also a legal record showing that
the marriage took place. The artist signs it as a
legal document.
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You will enjoy looking at some of the details of the
painting in the links below.
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Van Eyck painted several pictures of Mary and Jesus including this beautiful painting called "Madonna in the Church" which was painted in the 1430's.
Another Madonna painting which still exists "Madonna by the Fountain" can be compared to the sketch he made in preparation for the painting.
It is thought that Jan Van Eyck had a brother named Hubert. Supposedly, the famous Ghent Altarpiece was started by Hubert and finished by Jan after his brother's death. This magnificent painting is very large; two stories high and painted in several panels, 12 in all which fold toward the center. There are 12 more paintings on the back of the panels. A triptych (TRIP-tik) has three panels. This would be called a polyptych (POL-ip-tik), having many panels.
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