’Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife’ was one of my favourites in the exhibition, and I had seen it described in a book before this session. So I spent most of my time studying and looking at this work.
The name of a work of art is very important, the name of the work taken by the painter is closely linked to the painter’s own cultivation, if a good work has a good name it can be said to be the icing on the cake and give more meaning to the original foundation, on the contrary even if the painter’s work technique is good, it will pull down the audience’s good feeling towards the painter and the work. This is why the name of a work of art is so important. The title of this work by Van Eyck was not given by the author, but by the 20th-century historian Erwin Panofsky, who named it The Wedding of Arnolfini, based on a 16th-century account. I think Panofsky deliberated on this title for a long time, and in order not to affect the viewer’s understanding of the work, he named it in a way that does not add to or detract from the objective narrative – The Wedding of Arnolfini.
The title of this work leads to the interpretation: The man, Arnolfini, is holding his wife in his left hand, and the gesture of his right hand seems to be a promise to the person outside the picture(Based on 1. Alnofini’s eyes are not on his wife, but outside the picture, but not on the painter, because his eyes are not looking directly at the viewer). The man is standing on the left by the window, representing the man at work, while the woman is standing by the bed, representing the woman at home.
The most controversial thing is whether or not Arnolfini’s wife is pregnant? I think this is where the artist is at his most clever, the fact that the picture is controversial makes it a lot more readable. Firstly, the woman’s green dress indicates spring, which represents reproduction, and secondly, the woman’s white headscarf represents chastity. I have researched the painting and the time period and context
The first argument is that she is not pregnant: firstly, the figure in the painting is from the late Middle Ages, a conservative time when, in the Western world as in the East, pregnancy before marriage was a matter of misconduct, plus the fact that Arnolfini was from a wealthy merchant family, so there must have been no such thing in such a family; secondly, the picture does not show a pregnant belly, but rather the style of the dress is too large for walking, so Again, she is in the late medieval period, and it was previously stressed that the Black Death had occurred at the end of the Middle Ages and that too many people had died, and she is longing to be pregnant, so the artist has the mistress make a gesture to bless herself with an early pregnancy.
The second theory suggests that she is pregnant, firstly, because in those conservative times of the late Middle Ages, female chastity was viewed as extremely important, and because she is unmarried and pregnant, the husband makes the gesture of raising his right hand in assurance, as if to say to someone outside the painting to take care of his wife; secondly, because it is a wealthy merchant family that needs to paint a picture to mark their wedding day, they borrow the group to block her already pregnant belly. so that it would not have a bad effect on the education of one’s offspring.
There are many symbols, and the Renaissance painter has carefully There are many symbols, and the Renaissance painter has carefully designed each corner of his picture to echo the theme to enhance the meaning and mystery of the work. The dog is also a witness to their marriage, its eyes looking towards the painter himself, suggesting that the painter is as much a witness to their marriage as the dog. At the same time, the dog symbolises loyalty.
There are also several ways to interpret the symbolism of the chandelier: firstly, the symbol of the cross on the chandelier echoes the picture of the crucifixion around the mirror, both of which show that they were believers in Christ; secondly, the chandelier has so many candle holders that one candle is lit, symbolising heaven’s witness to their marriage; thirdly, if you look closely, the candle on the chandelier is burning on the man’s side, while the other candle on the woman’s side has burned out, which represents marriage, as European women married to husbands whose own surname was no longer in use needed to change to that of their husbands.
In conclusion, I have analysed this painting in the context of some online commentary and analysis, and I think there is more to this painting that is waiting to be studied.
Of course, there are many great works to present in this gallery.
At the same time, I found the interior details of the National Gallery well worth studying.
The interior is designed with many arches and has a very high ceiling height, with glass in the ceiling to allow light in. This gives the whole gallery a more spacious and magnificent look