Jan Van Eyck

(1390-1441)

Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter. His fellow artists referred to him as the “King of Painters” because of his technical skill and precise attention to detail. Jan, along with Robert Campin, was the founder of the Ars Nova (“new art”) style of 15th century noted for its vivid colors and meticulous detail, giving the paintings a three-dimensional feel. This style heralded the Renaissance in northern Europe.

In 1422, Jan worked for the count of Holland, John of Bavaria. In 1425 the duke of Burgundy, known as Philip the Good, appointed Jan court painter. Jan and Philip got along well and Jan kept this position until his death.

There isn’t a lot known about Jan’s early training. It is assumed that he worked with his brother Hubert on some of the early paintings. Although, some scholars, having extra time on their hands, have endlessly debated whether Hubert ever existed. Some of the earliest “Eyckian” paintings look like they were painted by Jan or Hubert or maybe both; these include the Turin-Milan Hours, the Three Marys at the Tomb, and Crucifixion and Last Judgement. It appears pretty obvious that the brothers both had a hand in painting The Ghent Alterpiece. Art Historians believe that Hubert began painting the panels. After Hubert’s death in 1426, Jan added panels of his own design and the whole thing was assembled and hung in the chapel of Jodocus Vyd in 1932.

There are nine paintings of Jan’s that still exist which he had the foresight to sign and date. There are also lots other works that look like he may have painted them too, but scholars only agree on less than a dozen of these. Among Jan’s most famous works, which include both religious items and portraits (and sometimes both) are:

· Madonna with Canon van der Maele (painted in 1436)

· Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife (painted in 1434)

· Madonna and Child with Chancellor Rolin (completed in 1434) (Such a painting wasn’t considered odd at that time; imagine one of our presidents asking to have a portrait made with him standing beside Mary and the baby Jesus!)

· Cardinal Nicolo Albergati (painted around 1435)

Although northern Europe was part of the Renaissance movement, they had a canon different from that of the southerners. And thus, it is called the Northen Renaissance. It wasn't a rebirth like that of Italy because they lacked the Roman and Greek ruins to rediscover. However, they still broke with the typical Gothic style of that time and produced their own set of brilliant arts. Northerners looked more into nature for their inspiration. Without Classcial sculture to teach them idealistic proportions, they painted reality as exactly as it appeared in a detailed fashion. The precision of the detailed portraits is ascribed to the new use of oil, whcih was first perfected by the Northerners. Holland and Flanders rivaled with Italy as centers of arts and culture.

Jan Van Eyck used the oil medium to achieve a sharpened realism. He painted in minute details in brilliant, glowing color with extreme reality.

The Crucifixion, 1425-30, tempera and oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The Last Judgement, 1425-30, tempera and oil on canvas, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The Annunciation, 1425-30, transferred from wood to canvas, The National Gallery of Art at Washington D.C.

The Annunciation, tempera and oil on wood, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

The Virgin of Chancellor Rolin, wood, Louvre.

A Man in a Turban (possibly a self-portrait), 1433, The National Gallery at London.

Madonna in the Church, 1430s, Staatliche Museen, Berlin-Dahlem.

The Arnolfini Marriage, 1434, oil on panel, National Gallery at London.

Arnolfini Portrait, panel, Staatliche Museen, Berlin-Dahlem.

The Lucca Madonna, panel, Städelsches Kunstintitut, Frankfurt am Main.

Portrait of Cardinal Niccolo Albergati, 1435-38, oil on wood, Art History Museum, Vienna.

The Madonna of Canon van der Paele, 1436, oil on panel, Musée Communal at Bruges.

St. Barbara, 1437, silverpoint, Musée Royal des Beaux-Arts at Antwerp.

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