Eyck, Jan van
Eyck,
Jan van (b. before 1395, Maaseik, Bishopric of Liège, Holy Roman Empire
[now in Belgium]--d. before July 9, 1441, Bruges), Flemish painter who
perfected the newly developed technique of oil painting. His naturalistic panel
paintings, mostly portraits and religious subjects, made extensive use of
disguised religious symbols. His masterpiece is the altarpiece in the cathedral
at Ghent, the Adoration of the Lamb
(1432). Hubert van Eyck is thought by some to have been Jan's brother.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994
Biography
Jan van Eyck, the most famous and innovative
Flemish painter of the 15th century, is thought to have come from the village
of Maaseyck in Limbourg.
No
record of his birthdate survives, but it is believed to have been about 1390;
his career, however, is well documented. He was employed (1422-24) at the court
of John of Bavaria, count of Holland, at The Hague, and in 1425 he was made
court painter and valet de chambre to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy. He
became a close member of the duke's court and undertook several secret missions
for him, including a trip (1428-29) to Spain and Portugal in connection with
negotiations that resulted in the marriage (1430) of Philip of Burgundy and
Isabella of Portugal. Documents show that in 1432-33 van Eyck bought a house in
Bruges. He signed and dated a number of paintings between 1432 and 1439, all of
which are painted in oil and varnished. According to documents, he was buried
on July 9, 1441.
Van
Eyck has been credited traditionally with the invention of painting in oils,
and, although this is incorrect, there is no doubt that he perfected the
technique. He used the oil medium to represent a variety of subjects with
striking realism in microscopic detail; for example, he infused painted jewels
and precious metals with a glowing inner light by means of subtle glazes over
the highlights. Like Robert Campin, van Eyck carefully selected and arranged
his subject matter so that it would contribute deeper symbolic meaning to his
painting, a style that Erwin Panofsky has called disguised symbolism. The
meticulous attention to detail in his paintings of architectural interiors and
landscapes is also evident in his portraits, painted with unrelenting,
dispassionate accuracy.
Van
Eyck's most famous and most controversial work is one of his first, the Ghent altarpiece (1432), a polyptych consisting
of twenty panels in the Church of St. Bavo, Ghent. On the frame is an
incomplete inscription in Latin that identifies the artists of the work as
Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The usual interpretation is that Hubert van Eyck (d.
Sept. 18, 1426) was the brother of Jan and that he was the painter who began
the altarpiece, which Jan then completed. Another interpretation is that Hubert
was neither Jan's brother nor a painter, but a sculptor who carved an elaborate
frame for the altar. Because of this controversy, attribution of the panels,
which vary somewhat in scale and even in style, has differed, according to the
arguments of scholars who have studied the problem. The exterior of the altar
depicts Jodocus Vijdt, the donor, and his wife kneeling on either side of two
grisaille (painted in gray to resemble statuary) representations of St. John
the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist; above is an Annunciation. The brightly
colored interior is dominated by a panel representing the Adoration of the Holy Lamb. Equally
famous is the wedding portrait of Giovanni
Arnolfini and his wife (1434; National Gallery, London), which
the artist signed "Johannes de Eyck fuit hic 1434" (Jan van Eyck was
here), testimony that he witnessed the ceremony. Other important paintings are
the Madonna of Chancellor Rolin
(1433-34 Louvre, Paris) and the Madonna of Canon van der Paele (1436; Groeninge
Museum, Bruges).
A new realism
Symbolic light in van Eyck
As
we look at the Annunciation,
we become warmly conscious of the gentle radiance of the light, illuminating
everything it embraces, from the dim upper roofing to the glancing gleam of the
angel's jewels. The clarity would be too intense were it not also soft, an
integrating, enveloping presence. This diffused presence, impartial in its
luminescence, is also a spiritual light, surrogate of God Himself, who loves
all that He has made.
The
symbolism goes even deeper: the upper church is dark, and the solitary window
depicts God the Father. Below though, wholly translucent, are three bright
windows that remind us of the Trinity, and of how Christ is the light of the
world. This holy light comes in all directions, most obviously streaming down
towards the Virgin as the Holy Spirit comes to overshadow her: from this sacred
shadow will arise divine brightness. Her robes swell out as if in anticipation,
and she answers the angelic salutation ``Ave
Gratia Plena'' (``Hail, full of grace'') with a humble ``Ecce Ancilla Domini'' (``Behold the
handmaid of the Lord''). But with charming literalness, van Eyck writes her
words reversed and inverted, so that the Holy Spirit can read them. The angel
is all joy, all smiles, all brightness: the Virgin is pensive, amazed,
unbejewelled. She knows, as the angel apparently does not, what will be the
cost of her surrender to God. Her heart will be pierced with grief when her
Child is crucified, and we notice that she holds up her hands in the symbolic
gesture of devotion, but also as if in unconscious anticipation of a piercing.
The
angel advances over the tiles of a church, where we can make out David slaying
Goliath. (Goliath represents the power--ultimately fruitless--of the Devil.)
The message the angel gives Mary sets her forth on her own road to the
giant-slaying that is her motherhood and holiness.
Oil: a new painting medium
The
van Eycks started their careers as manuscript illuminators. The often miniature
detail and exquisite rendering found in van Eyck paintingsm such as the Annunciation, reveal a strong affinity
with this art form. However, the single factor that most distinguishes the van
Eycks from the art of manuscript illumination was the medium they used.
For
many years Jan van Eyck was wrongly credited with the ``discovery of painting
in oil''. In fact, oil painting was already in existence, used to paint
sculptures and to glaze over tempera paintings. The van Eycks' real achievement
was the development--after much experimentation--of a stable varnish that would
dry at a consistent rate. This was created with linseed and nut oils, and mixed
with resins.
The
breakthrough came when Jan or Hubert mixed the oil into the actual paints they
were using, instead of the egg medium that constituted tempera paint. The
result was brilliance, translucence, and intensity of color as the pigment was
suspended in a layer of oil that also trapped light. The flat, dull surface of
tempera was transformed into a jewel-like medium, at once perfectly suited to
the representation of precious metals and gems and, more significantly, to the
vivid, convincing depiction of natural light.
Van
Eyck's inspired observations of light and its effects, executed with technical
virtuosity through this new, transparent medium, enabled him to create a
brilliant and lucid kind of reality. The invention of this technique
transformed the appearance of painting.
A marriage portrait
``The Arnolfini Marriage'' is a name that
has been given to this untitled double portrait by Jan van Eyck, now in the
National Gallery, London. It is one of the greatest celebrations of human
mutuality. Like Rembrandt's ``Jewish
Bride'', this painting reveals to us the inner meaning of a true
marriage.
The
bed, the single burning candle, the solemn moment of joining as the young groom
is about to place his raised hand in his betrothed's, the fruit, the faithful
little dog, the rosary, the unshod feet (since this is the ground of a holy
union), and even the respectful space between Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife,
Giovanna Cenami, are all united in the mirror's reflection. All these details
exalt us and at the same time make us aware of the human potential for goodness
and fulfilment.
Список
литературы
Для подготовки данной работы
были использованы материалы с сайта http://www.ibiblio.org/louvre/paint/