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Though only nine works of art are signed to be his, the most famous of which he is even secretly drawn into, Jan van Eyck captures the hearts of his audiences with his creation of superb pieces of art that inspire all. Jan van Eyck, a prominent artist in the Renaissance, altered the course of art, by paving the way for future artists who copied his unique use of oil painting, perspective, and realism in their works. Van Eycks works, such as The Arnolfini Portrait and Madonna and Chancellor Rolin, are examples of van Eycks ability to apply mood and meaning to his paintings. He portrays his expertise and mastery in applying light, intricate facial details and structure, and humanism in his scenes. Van Eycks works show his astute ability in emerging Renaissance themes such as light and shadowing, realism, attention to human anatomy, and perspective.
Jan van Eyck was a prominent member of the Renaissance, creating pieces of work that revolutionized the whole of art, though much of his early life is unknown. Jan van Eyck was born in the city of Maaseyck near Maastricht in c. 1390, in the southern Netherlands. Much of his art reflected his connection to his country, as he incorporated much of his Flemish culture into his art. Van Eyck had two brothers, Hubert and Lambert, who similarly were both esteemed painters whom Jan van Eyck was taught by and later even worked with, influencing his works. According to Northern European and Flemish traditions, it was typical for family members to share their art techniques with others in the family. For instance, both Jan and Hubert van Eyck collaborated on the Ghent Altarpiece, created in c. 1432. This masterpiece displayed both brothers unique ability to incorporate minimalism and perspective into their art. It is assumed that the altarpiece itself was painted by Jan while the overall idea of the altarpiece and the figures in the central top panels in the interior were created by Hubert (Hickson). Van Eyck was later employed by John of Bavaria, the Bishop of Liege, in the year 1422, to help decorate Johns castle. At the death of John in 1425, van Eyck proceeded to work as a court painter for Duke Philip of Burgundy, an immensely powerful and rich ruler, for a period of sixteen years. He was then able to establish a prominent workshop in Bruges by 1430, where the Duke would pay personal visits to van Eyck and grant extra payments, gifts, and privileges. Their friendship blossomed to the point that van Eyck named Duke Philip his daughter’s godfather in 1435 at her baptism ( Jan van Eyck ). Van Eyck’s workshop in Bruges also elevated his position as an esteemed painter in the Renaissance. Because van Eyck, unlike many artists of the time, was employed, his salary increased by large sums every year.
Van Eycks works display his unique ability to incorporate major Renaissance themes to create greatly influential pieces of artwork, such as The Arnolfini Portrait, which is arguably Van Eyck’s most famous work. The Arnolfini Portrait was finished in 1434 in the town of Bruges. To create this painting, van Eyck used oil as his medium on wood support, applying the wet-in-wet technique. The painting is 22 83 x 22 03. This painting exhibits Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini and his wife Giovanna Cenami in communion after becoming recently wed, but it is now thought that this portrait shows the couple married 13 years after the painting was painted. The painting depicts the couple as rich, as the pair are expensively dressed though humbly, their hands also joined. If in fact, the painting shows the marriage of the pair, his painting would have been proof of the marriage agreement and would have been legally binding (Harris and Zucker). Probably van Eyck’s most discussed work, The Arnolfini Portrait is rich in iconography and gives the viewer an insight into Flemish culture ( The Arnolfini Portrait ). This painting shows van Eycks ability to use light to make both the clothes of the subjects and their faces more realistic. The brass of the chandelier above the couple reflects the light from the window, showing van Eyck’s ability to carefully mix oil paints in order to increase the realism in his paintings. Similarly, van Eyck uses light to make Giovanni and Giovanna seem more three-dimensional which introduces another one of van Eyck’s many abilities, which is to include humanism in his paintings. Van Eyck was able to make Giovanni and Giovanna look almost alive by using his skillful techniques. Lastly, he uses perspective that allows the audience to see the couple as the main two figures in the middle of the portrait. Because of the iconography and the Flemish culture portrayed in The Arnolfini Portrait, the work is still seen as one of van Eyck’s most rich and beautiful pieces of art ( The Arnolfini Portrait ).
A similarly well-known piece of art by Jan van Eyck is Madonna and Chancellor Rolin, which is filled with Biblical references and a striking use of humanism. Madonna and Chancellor Rolin was created in c. 1435 and produced specially for Nicolas Rolin who was, at the time, the chancellor of the Duchy of Burgundy. This portrait hung in his parish church, Notre-Dame-du-Chastel in Autun. This piece displays, unlike earlier Medieval pieces of art, baby Jesus as a proportional baby. This differs from the many previous Biblical paintings where baby Jesus is shown to be upright, muscular, and standing attentively to show that he is unlike any child. Both Madonna and baby Jesus sit facing Chancellor Rolin, focusing on him intently. Above Rolin’s head lie the Seven Deadly Sins, while the triple archway is a reference to the Trinity ( Madonna and Chancellor Rolin ). Van Eyck used oil as his medium on wood support, applying the wet-in-wet technique in his work, similar to The Arnolfini Portrait. This painting is layered not just in paint but in meaning and dimensions. In the foreground, middle ground, and the landscape we get a sense of story or an inter-working between all the levels, each with an infinite amount of detail ( Madonna and Chancellor Rolin ). Madonna and Chancellor Rolin is a spectacular example of van Eyck’s ability to use light and shadowing to make his scenes more realistic. The characters sit bathed in light coming from the right-hand side of the painting. This is similar to the paintings position as it sat bathed in the light from the church window in the Autun Cathedral. Van Eyck also displays his capacity to use perspective, a major theme in the Renaissance, to enhance the realism of the scene. For example, the background is painted specifically to make the audience look more at the main characters. This creates a soft light inside while the horizon gives the landscape depth and stronger light. The light also gives Mary’s cloak a rich red color which, because of van Eycks use of oil paint, is still a vibrant red to this day (Kren and Marx). The painting also demonstrates humanism as Rolin, Mary, and baby Jesus seem almost three-dimensional, differing from art in the Middle Ages. This also represents van Eyck’s use of realism which goes hand-in-hand which the humanism in this painting, as the use of perspective enhances the feeling and mood of the painting.
Jan van Eyck was able to incorporate in his work, at the time, radical art techniques that differed from art in the Renaissance. His use of optical perspective enhances his artwork, touching the hearts of his viewers. His unique use of oil paint, in comparison to the egg tempera used at that time, created vibrant colors that contributed to his signature use of perspective. Often misinterpreted as the creator of oil painting, van Eyck is known for the way he is able to use this lighting and shadowing, such as in the Ghent Altarpiece, to enhance the vibrant colors of the light, making his art unique to others in the Renaissance. In the Ghent Altarpiece, van Eyck carefully pays close attention to the lighting and shading of the figures, creating a newfound concept of humanism in his work (Hickson). Van Eyck also uses his superb sense of human anatomy and perspective to heighten the feeling in his paintings. Considered a master of light shown on fabrics, faces, and through windows, van Eyck perfects this art in pieces such as The Madonna with Canon van der Paele (‘The Madonna with Canon Van der Paele’). Van Eyck also specialized in portraits and landscapes that were hung in homes and used as legal documents, such as The Arnolfini Portrait, thought to be a legal document binding Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini and his wife Giovanna Cenami ( The Arnolfini Portrait ). Perspective was another essential theme used in many of van Eyck’s works, adding a new reality to paintings, such as van Eyck’s Madonna and Chancellor Rolin ( Madonna and Chancellor Rolin ). Inspiring artists in the future such as Rogier van der Weyden, Robert Campin, Petrus Christus, Hans Memling, and even Albrecht Dürer, Jan van Eyck mastered the ideas of the Renaissance, creating art that used the newfound art techniques such as realism, working with oil paint, humanism, and perspective ( Van Buskirk ).
Jan van Eyck showed his immense capacity to create detailed pieces of work ranging from marriage agreements such as The Arnolfini Portrait to important Biblically insightful scenes such as Madonna and Chancellor Rolin which represented surfacing Renaissance themes such as humanism, light and shadowing, realism, attention to human anatomy, and perspective. The Renaissance displayed many influential artists, one of which was the distinguished Jan van Eyck who was one of the first to use the technique of oil painting, and the art of perspective and realism in his works. Jan van Eyck pioneered such an innovative style that he altered the course of Flemish painting and is often known as the ‘Father of Oil Painting’, for displaying such an entirely new way of painting which was used by artists from centuries ago to artists now ( Jan van Eyck ).
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