The Arnolfini Portrait
The Arnolfini Portrait
Jan van Eyck · 1434
01
Bruges. 1434.
An Italian merchant and his wife.
One room. Oil paint, down to the thread.
02
A brass chandelier.
One candle lit.
In daylight.
03
On the back wall, a convex mirror.
Ten tiny scenes of the Passion ring the frame.
In the glass: the couple's backs. And two more people.
04
Above the mirror, on the wall itself.
Written like graffiti. His name. A date.
One of the two in the mirror may be him.
Not “painted this”. “Was here.”
05
At their feet, a small dog.
Every hair painted.
The whole room.
Uncropped.
“Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434”
1842
The National Gallery buys it for 600 guineas.
The seller is a Scottish soldier, James Hay.
He'd served in Spain. How he got it is still unclear.
Jan van Eyck
Flemish · Early Netherlandish · c. 1390 to 1441
Sources · 4