Unit/Project 5 -

Text on an annotated image -
Jan Van Eyck’s ‘The Arnolfini Marriage’

The painting is a marriage portrait and shows the married couple as the central feature.

The man is dressed in a heavy and dark outfit with a big black hat. His expression is quite sombre and standing nearest the window with his back to it, he is dark and shaded. He appears to have no shoes on although his feet look like they may have been repainted, as they are not clearly defined, a feature that is unusual in comparison to the clarity of the brushwork found throughout the rest of the painting.

The lady stands next to the bed and is dressed in rich vibrant coloured clothes although they also appear to be of quite thick and heavy fabrics. Her outfit appears to be lighter by the use of delicate decorations on her accessories such as the white headdress and the fabric textures. She also benefits from having light from the window shining onto her. Her expression is slightly pensive, one hand clutches at her clothing, drawing them to her chest as if for protection or comfort.

The room looks to be a bedroom, which is an unusual setting for a wedding portrait. The room itself has elements that are quite drab; some of the window shutters are missing, a sweeping brush left hanging off the bed and the shoes left in view. These again make the setting for a wedding portrait quite odd. Contrasting these drab elements are the sumptuous bed, the elaborate chandelier and the decorative wooden carving on the headboard.

A sense of perspective into the centre of the painting is achieved using the lines of the floorboards, window and furniture. Although the couple are the centrepiece, the perspective leads towards the mirror on the back wall. This in turn brings the viewer back into the room with its reflection. The details on the mirror edge show Biblical scenes and this, with the mirrors position, implies that religion is central to the marriage and its portrait. This is also reinforced with the positioning of the couples hands underneath the mirror; the curve of their arms helps to give movement in the picture and to lead the viewers’ eye around. The chandelier points downwards, once again towards the mirror and the couples hands.

Holding hands is the only way in which the couple are connected, although this does not look natural for either people. He has control in the hold while she keeps her hand open stiffly. They both have their gazes averted and avoid eye contact with each other and the viewer. Their expressions are not joyful, and along with their outfits - mainly his - they do not seem to be celebrating their marriage. They do both appear to be wearing very similar, if not matching, metal cuffs with a lattice pattern, possibly a wedding gift to them.

Overall, the image is both beautiful and strange. Despite the lack of celebration, there is an air of calmness and serenity to the picture and it has an obvious beauty from the use of colour and the high standard of skill in the paintwork. Looking beyond this, the peculiar is noticed in the choice of setting and the objects left included. Symbolic interpretations could be used to explain some, or even all, of the peculiarities, and this I feel could only add to the beauty of this painting.