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Mesmerized by the Art of Jan van Eyck

© Tricia Dake

When I was in college, I took an art history class during my very first quarter. I loved sitting in the comfortably cushioned theater chairs in the darkened art history room. The chairs were tan suede and rocked a little bit. Skinny desks folded down for students to take notes on. I learned quickly that I didn't need to lug my art history tome (Janson on Art) to class three times a week. From 8:10 to 9:20 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, I came prepared to be awed as I stared at the big screen where images of art from all over the world mesmerized me.

You must understand I had never been to any prominent museums. I grew up on the North Coast of California amidst fog and redwood trees. I went to school there too and then enrolled in college there. There were only three art history professors in the art department then, but I eventually came to learn from them all. In that first quarter, I studied art from Western Civilization. It was in that room watching the pictures flash upon the screen that I fell in love with the Dutch artists, and it was seeing Jan van Eyck’s "Wedding Portrait" painted in 1434 that first captivated my attention.

The detail of the painting still impresses me. The perfect tiny image of the back of the couple reflected in the mirror on the wall is extraordinary. The fact that above the mirror, written on the wall it says "Jan van Eyck was here," causes historians to surmise that he was probably among the witnesses at the wedding ceremony. The painting can also be titled "Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife." This was an actual event. The costumes of the couple are detailed to perfection. This is apparent in each draping fold of the young bride's gown and how she holds it up. The light on the brim edge of the groom's hat indicates the brushed texture of it. The light source in the painting comes from a side window and credibly illumines the room.

Then there are all the symbols of marriage. The shoes removed to indicate that because it is a marriage ceremony that the ground then is holy. The chandelier with one candle lit represents the presence of God. Even the dog in the foreground was then considered a symbol of marital fidelity.

Van Eyck's paintings seem illuminated from within. It is his technique of layering the paint that achieves this. A technique that still defies complete understanding yet earned him the title "King of Painters." It is Jan van Eyck who was for many years credited with the "invention" of oil painting.

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