During this term the type of art that I particularly enjoyed studying was, art in the 15th century by Jan van Eyck.
Considering that I just began to study oil paints this term I have to say that the most inspirational person to read about (and see the works of) is van Eyck. Just the detail image of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife on page 575 is enough to make me want to head over to the studio and paint. The beads hanging on the wall in particular are my favorite part of the painting. The way that van Eyck was able to show light shinning through the beads and into their shadows amazes me. Another aspect that I like about it is the weight that I feel from the beads as they hang from the nail in the wall. You can see that the thin rope is tight with their weight, but not so much that it is straining the rope or the nail.
Right after reading this chapter I actually had to paint clear beads in a still life, and even though they're no where near as incredible as van Eyck's I'm still proud of myself for being able to show light passing through them, and the little bar in the middle for the line to go through.
Another thing that I just now noticed in the detailed image is the window's reflection in the mirror. It shows the outside world a bit more than the actual window in the painting. I can't exactly tell what I see in the window's reflection, but it looks almost like a row of sunflowers. That mirror really does reflect everything from a different perspective. It's nice to be able to see the backside of the fruit, the rest of the furniture, and even all of the details on the ceiling.
(The only thing that I don't see reflected in the mirror is the dog, why wouldn't the dog be in the reflection? It's standing between the couple so it should be there.)
The other thing that is probably the most striking to me about this painting is the size of it. The whole double portrait is only 33x22 ½ inches. That strikes me so much because it's only a little bit bigger than the canvases that painting students have to use in their classes. It's insane to think that he was able to get so much detail into a canvas that's that small. And because of the amount of detail in the painting every time I look at it I see something new. Just now I noticed the stained glass design above the window, but oddly enough that too is not reflected in the mirror.
3 comments:
Van Eyck was a personal favorite painter of mine during the fifteenth century as well. His close attention to detail through his paintings is simply unreal. I didn't notice that the dog wasn't in the reflection until you mentioned it! Very strange. Good choice in an artist!
Great choice! Van Eyck was AMAZING! I have worked with oils before and I do not know how that man did it. Oil painting is so hard to work with; maybe it is just me though. I really like how much time you took to observe his painting. I think when we do this, it allows us to appreciate art even more. I also agree with you that it is nice to see the reflection on the mirror.
I never noticed that the dog wasnt in the reflection... Good eye! I also find it odd... I really liked Van Eyck as well, since I was able to find more about him than just the average information. It was alot of fun for me to speculate things along with the historians on this painting. Have a safe break!
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