Art

Jan Van Eyck

an Van Eyck was born around 1390 in Maaseyck, a small town near Maastricht, in the southern Netherlands. In 1422, he was in the Hague working as painter and personal servant to the Count of Holland, John of Bavaria; when John died, he worked for Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy. He lived in Lille, which is now in Northern France, and, as a court artist, his work ranged from painting portraits to designing costumes and ornaments for festivities, painting shields and banners, color statues, and even create elaborate dishes for court banquets. In 1433, he married, just a year after buying a house in Bruges, Belgium. His wife was named Margaret and the couple had 2 children. His earliest known piece is the Ghent Alterpiece, and the theme of the painting was Jesus' sacrifice. In one panel, worshippers kneel before a lamb, a traditional symbol for Jesus. The work was greatly admired by Van Eyck's contemporaries and has continued to impress artists and critics. The German, Albrecht Durer called it a "stupendous painting."

Van Eyck also had major impact on development of the portrait. Artists had previously exaggerated their models' features, but Van Eyck used a more naturalistic style in which people and objects appeared more as they would in the real world. He had an eye for everyday detail and gift for reproducing appearance of textures like wrinkled skin, fur, or shining metal. One model was portrayed in such detail that modern doctors have figured out what disease he suffered from.

In 1435, Van Eyck painted "The Madonna and Child with Chancellor Rolin", which showed ornate columns and a city-scape in the background, demonstrating perspective, which was invented in Italy and was not widely known in the North at that time. Van Eyck was one of the first painters to paint in oil paints and demonstrate their true potential, oils having been rare before Van Eycks time. Most artists of the time used tempera paints, which dried quickly and were difficult to use. Van Eyck also used tempera, but on top of this he applied layers of oil paint, which reflected light and gave his colors a rich glow.

In many works, he included inscriptions on the frames or paintings that had phrases like, "As best I can." In his famous painting "The Arnolfini Marriage", he wrote "Jan van Eyck was here, 1434" in Latin.Van Eyck died in Bruges in 1441 at around age fifty.

· MAJOR WORKS: The Ghent Alterpiece (c.1425-32), Portrait of a Man in a Red Turban (c.1433), "The Arnolfini Marriage" (c. 1434), The Madonna and Child with Chancellor Rolin (c. 1435), The Madonna with Canon can der Paele (c.1434-36)