Tip: move over the painting to use the lens.
Arnolfini Portrait
Jan van Eyck · 1434
- Artist
- Jan van Eyck
- Date
- 1434
- Where to see it
- National Gallery
National Gallery · Public domain · image via Wikimedia Commons · see it at the museum ↗
Slow Look
- The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
- The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
- The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
- One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
- The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?
About Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was an early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as early Netherlandish painting, and one of the supreme figures of the Early Northern Renaissance. Such was his legacy, that he has been called "the inventor of oil-painting" by Vasari, Ernst Gombrich, and others, although this claim is now considered an oversimplification.
What do you see?
Stand in front of it for a moment. Then tell us what you noticed or felt - there are no wrong answers.
Be the first to share a thought.
