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jazzy_daveCarola Hicks "Girl In A Green Gown : The History and Mystery of the Arnolfini Portrait" (Chatto & Windus)
I have seen thus a couple of times on my very rare excursions to London and is on display at London's National Gallery in the Sainsbury Wing. It had intrigued me each time i viewed it, and now I have read the perfect book on the painting and its history.
It is a small painting. Despite its age it shines brightly. A young couple hold hands in their bedroom. They are barefoot. She wears a beautiful green dress. The eye catches the deep red furnishings – the bed of course. A single candle flickers in the ornate chandelier. A bright-eyed little dog looks at us. Then there is the mirror. Someone is looking into the room just as we do. Are the couple inviting us to join them? The artist has inscribed his name, Johannes de Eyck, and the date 1434.
The Arnolfini Portrait was one of the first paintings acquired by the National Gallery. It is one of the best-loved.
It began life in an attic in Bruges. How did it find its way into Trafalgar Square? Who are the man and the woman? What does it “mean”? Why has it cast such a spell?
This is a short book. It is not the last word on the artist or the work, by any means. It will probably not satisfy the specialist. It will enrich the viewing experience of the millions who step out of a busy street and stand in front of it, like myself, when i have visited the gallery.
The author follows the trail from 15th century Flanders as it passed from hand to hand. Each chapter discusses each owner, who they were and their interest in art. Interspersed are short chapters on different aspects of the painting itself. She tells how the objects in the room show off the high status of the couple as well as the genius of the painter. The same objects may be found in religious work of the time by van Eyck and his contemporaries – the portrait is both secular and spiritual, domestic and holy. Techniques and style are explained but the erudite, inaccessible and “arty” is avoided. She notes a resemblance to Vladimir Putin, she delights in the dogginess of the terrier in the foreground. She covers questions of symbolism. We learn how it has been interpreted over time. She summarizes evidence on the identity of the couple. But this is all presented in a way that I found so easy to read.
The Arnolfini was not seen by the public until 1843. Previous to that it was held in Spanish palaces generally unnoticed perhaps except for years spent in a royal loo, where, well, it must have been noticed at least! Some of its first and most enthusiastic fans were the Pre-Raphaelites. She made me realise just how important van Eyck was to their work. The Arnolfini motifs recur again and again in Morris, Millais and the other brothers. They thought to reproduce it, but knew even they had not that talent.
The couple spent the First World War hiding in the London Underground; during the Second they vacationed in a slate quarry in Wales. They returned in May 1945 as one of the nation’s favourites, a splash of colour in a drab and grey era. Modern cartoonists and advertisers have used its iconic status, even Habitat once in 2006. For young couples today it symbolises marriage and true love. We cannot see it through medieval eyes, so to a degree it must always be a mystery. Quite so.
An epilogue by Carola’s husband tells us that she died before the book was published. The project and the painting helped her through her final illness. Art can do that.
I have seen thus a couple of times on my very rare excursions to London and is on display at London's National Gallery in the Sainsbury Wing. It had intrigued me each time i viewed it, and now I have read the perfect book on the painting and its history.
It is a small painting. Despite its age it shines brightly. A young couple hold hands in their bedroom. They are barefoot. She wears a beautiful green dress. The eye catches the deep red furnishings – the bed of course. A single candle flickers in the ornate chandelier. A bright-eyed little dog looks at us. Then there is the mirror. Someone is looking into the room just as we do. Are the couple inviting us to join them? The artist has inscribed his name, Johannes de Eyck, and the date 1434.
The Arnolfini Portrait was one of the first paintings acquired by the National Gallery. It is one of the best-loved.
It began life in an attic in Bruges. How did it find its way into Trafalgar Square? Who are the man and the woman? What does it “mean”? Why has it cast such a spell?
This is a short book. It is not the last word on the artist or the work, by any means. It will probably not satisfy the specialist. It will enrich the viewing experience of the millions who step out of a busy street and stand in front of it, like myself, when i have visited the gallery.
The author follows the trail from 15th century Flanders as it passed from hand to hand. Each chapter discusses each owner, who they were and their interest in art. Interspersed are short chapters on different aspects of the painting itself. She tells how the objects in the room show off the high status of the couple as well as the genius of the painter. The same objects may be found in religious work of the time by van Eyck and his contemporaries – the portrait is both secular and spiritual, domestic and holy. Techniques and style are explained but the erudite, inaccessible and “arty” is avoided. She notes a resemblance to Vladimir Putin, she delights in the dogginess of the terrier in the foreground. She covers questions of symbolism. We learn how it has been interpreted over time. She summarizes evidence on the identity of the couple. But this is all presented in a way that I found so easy to read.
The Arnolfini was not seen by the public until 1843. Previous to that it was held in Spanish palaces generally unnoticed perhaps except for years spent in a royal loo, where, well, it must have been noticed at least! Some of its first and most enthusiastic fans were the Pre-Raphaelites. She made me realise just how important van Eyck was to their work. The Arnolfini motifs recur again and again in Morris, Millais and the other brothers. They thought to reproduce it, but knew even they had not that talent.
The couple spent the First World War hiding in the London Underground; during the Second they vacationed in a slate quarry in Wales. They returned in May 1945 as one of the nation’s favourites, a splash of colour in a drab and grey era. Modern cartoonists and advertisers have used its iconic status, even Habitat once in 2006. For young couples today it symbolises marriage and true love. We cannot see it through medieval eyes, so to a degree it must always be a mystery. Quite so.
An epilogue by Carola’s husband tells us that she died before the book was published. The project and the painting helped her through her final illness. Art can do that.
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