First, the feeling of seeing a painting for the first time.
? The first time you look at a painting, what you may feel most is the bride's big belly and the groom's big hat. It is the standard action of many expectant mothers that the bride bulges her belly and puts her hands on her stomach. The bride seems to be pregnant! The groom has a narrow face and a serious face, wearing a huge hat. At first glance, from the modern point of view, this painting is ridiculous to a couple. They don't know what the painter wants to show, and they don't know what special achievements the painting has made. This is the real feeling when I first saw this painting a long time ago.
Second, Yang Van Eyck's artistic achievements
? The author Jan Van Ike (1390- 144 1) is a painter in the Netherlands (now Belgium). He is the founder of Nordic post-Gothic painting in the15th century, the founder of Dutch Renaissance art, and a key figure in the formation of oil painting.
1, the details are as real as a mirror.
When we look at this painting carefully, we will feel as if an ordinary corner of the real world was suddenly fixed in the oil painting by a kind of magic. Everything is here-carpets and slippers, rosaries on the wall, small brushes by the bed and fruits on the windowsill, as if we could visit Arnold Fini in person at his home.
There is a mirror hanging on the wall in the picture. There are 10 protruding flower-shaped squares on the frame, and each square has a small circle. Draw a story of Jesus in each circle. The image is too small to be recognized. The circular mirror in the center reflects the scenery of the whole room, as well as the scene when the painter paints. This subtle and delicate performance was rare at that time, and it could only be seen in Nederland's miniature paintings. A large area of clothes and fabrics in the picture can give people a strong sense of contrast, whether it is folds or textures. The white fluffy fabric (some say ferret hair) of his wife's clothes is in sharp contrast with the metal chandelier in the picture.
? During the Renaissance, there was an unprecedented trend of creating new art and being loyal to nature. This eager desire also inspired Van Eyck. He patiently added more details to the details until the whole picture became a mirror reflecting the visible world and made people feel real.
He is the inventor of oil painting.
? In order to realize his intention and insist on reflecting all the details of reality like a mirror, Van Eyck had to improve his painting skills. He is the inventor of oil painting (whether this statement is correct or not has been discussed a lot). At that time, painters had to make their own pigments, and before using them, they had to add some liquid to make the pigment powder into a paste. Although there are various ways to make it, in the middle ages, the main component of the liquid used has always been egg white, which is very suitable, but it dries too fast. Yang Van Ike is not satisfied with this formula; Because he can't change colors slowly to make the transition soft. So he used oil instead of egg white, so that he could draw more calmly and accurately.
After repeated experiments, Yang Van Eyck found that linseed oil and walnut oil were ideal blending agents. When painting on processed cloth or wood, the picture is rich in color and the visual effect is realistic. Oil painting pigments are very fine particles extracted from minerals and plants and ground, and then mixed with vegetable oil in proportion. They have the characteristics of opacity and strong coverage, and can be covered layer by layer from deep to shallow, so that the picture has a realistic three-dimensional sense. Due to the improvement of materials, the painting is smooth, and the drying time of pigments on the screen is moderate, which is convenient for covering and modifying many times. The dried pigment has strong adhesion, is not easy to peel off and fade, and forms rich color levels and glossiness.
3. Highlights in painting
? The successful modulation of oil painting pigments enables him to make bright pigments, which can be used in transparent color layers, and he can point out shiny highlights on the screen with a sharp pen, thus obtaining highly accurate effects; The magical effect produced surprised people at that time.
Van Eyck used new oil painting materials to paint, which had a great influence on the painting world at that time. Since then, oil painting technology has been widely spread in other European countries, and today it has become the most important painting in the world.
Third, classic reading.
1. Who is the man in the photo?
? The man in the painting is Giovamni Arnolfini, an Italian businessman, who brings his bride Jeanne de Chenany to the Netherlands to do business. Arnold Fini is a real person who was knighted by Duke Philip in 1420. He is also the spokesman of Italian medici family in Bruges.
2. Why is this painting a marriage certificate?
How can we judge that this painting represents an important moment in their lives-their wedding (or engagement)? It is not entirely because of the movements of the characters in the painting: Arnold Fini raises his right hand in the painting, indicating a ceremony and symbolizing his commitment to love; The bride puts her right hand on the groom's left hand and vows to be her husband's faithful companion forever.
? It is believed that there are two points in the painting that invite the painter to record the witness of this important moment, just as it is possible to invite a notary to declare that he attended a similar solemn ceremony.
The first point is that the painter wrote his Latin name "Johannes de evck fuit hie" in a prominent position in the picture, indicating that Yang Van Ike was present.
The second point is that in the mirror at the back of the room, we see the whole scene reflected from the back, from which we see the images of painters and witnesses.
We don't know whether the Italian businessman or the painter in the painting came up with such an idea to witness this important moment with this new painting, but the painter became an out-and-out witness for the first time in history.
3. Symbolic meaning of elements in painting
All the details in the room, such as candles, brushes, brooms, apples, rosaries and dogs between them, are symbolic to some extent, suggesting the association of a happy marriage. The chandelier hanging above the screen lights up the candles, which symbolizes the light leading to heaven; Put a pair of slippers in the lower corner of the picture to indicate marriage; The puppy at the foot shows loyalty; A woman's white headscarf represents chastity and virginity, green represents fertility, and red on the bed symbolizes harmony; The rosary on the wall represents piety; Brush represents purity; The apple on the windowsill is a forbidden fruit in the Bible, which represents a warning. A round mirror with a corner in the middle of the picture represents the meaning of heaven. All these symbols have both Christian beliefs and secular ideas, and the painter has included them in his paintings and described them in great detail.
? Luxury and bloated clothing is a kind of clothing for the rich in the Netherlands. Arnold Fini's wife is often mistaken for being pregnant. In fact, she just picked up the skirt horn on her chest, which was a fashion at that time. Giovanni Anofini comes from a businessman's family, and it is not difficult to see from the decoration and room furnishings that he is quite rich.
Fourth, the tortuous experience after the publication of the work.
? 1434, the Dutch painter Jan van Eyck created this painting in Bruges. Later this painting went to Spain. In the 16 and 17 centuries, people's understanding of this painting was basically a "wedding photo", but there was no conclusion about whose wedding photo it was.
1842, during the war between Britain and Spain, the British "bought" this painting from a Spanish prisoner of war, and it has been hidden in the National Gallery of Britain ever since. At first, the British didn't know much about this painting. 1847, when compiling the catalogue of paintings, the staff of the art museum mistakenly interpreted this painting as "a portrait of Van Eyck himself when he got married" according to a line on the back wall of the painting. At this point, perhaps because people define this painting as a "wedding portrait", few people interpret the woman's slightly bulging belly in the painting as a "sign of pregnancy". Later, when people no longer regarded this painting as a "wedding portrait", the "pregnancy theory" became popular. For example, 1855, some people interpret this painting as "the person in the painting is reading the palm of a pregnant woman and predicting the fate of her future child." At the same time, another explanation regards this painting as an oath ceremony: "The man in the painting is swearing to the child in his wife's belly, and they are the parents of the child."
? Various explanations met a terminator in 1934. 1934 In March, panofsky, an art historian, published an article in Burlington Magazine to interpret this painting. Pan Noszky synthesized all the above explanations, and made textual research on some historical materials, especially combined with his academic expertise-iconology and iconology interpretation, and made a detailed analysis of this painting.
First of all, he thought it was a wedding portrait. A man held a woman's hand in his left hand and raised his right hand on his chest, which was a typical wedding oath posture in Bruges. Secondly, the characters in the painting are Arnold Fini, a nobleman in Bruges, and his wife. Finally, there are many symbols in the painting that have symbolic significance and have a certain relationship with Christianity. For example, the chandelier at the top of the picture has nine candlesticks, but only one candle is lit, which means that God is witnessing their wedding. There are ten gear-like reliefs around the mirror in the middle of the picture, and the picture above is ten scenes of Christ's crucifixion; The dog at the bottom of the picture symbolizes loyalty, and the two pairs of shoes they take off represent that they stand before God on an equal footing and accept his blessing. The fruit on the right windowsill is orange, which shows that Arnold Fini is rich, because at that time, oranges were very expensive fruits, and most people could not afford them. On the other hand, fruit also represents the pure Garden of Eden. Of course, some people say that this fruit is an apple. Later generations may have different interpretations of these symbols, but most of them are inseparable from panofsky's model.
? Finally, panofsky thinks that this painting is not only a description of a wedding scene, but also a kind of proof, just like today's "marriage certificate", just using a painting to prove it. Among them, the most important witness of the wedding, painter Van Ike, appeared twice in the painting, once in the form of words, that is, the painter's signature on the back wall; Another time is in the form of an image, that is, the painter himself in the mirror. Since then, panofsky's interpretation has basically become the standard answer in art history textbooks.
? Of course, the most interesting part of the painting-Mrs. Anofini's belly, based on panofsky's theory, has also been reasonably explained: Mrs. Anofini can't be pregnant, and her slightly bulging belly is only caused by the clothes at that time. At that time, aristocratic clothes were spacious and complicated. Mrs. Arnold Fini lifted the extra part of the skirt and put it in front of her stomach, causing the illusion that her stomach was slightly raised and she was pregnant. Furthermore, some symbol lovers make this symbol into a "myth" drama: Mrs. Arnold Fini's slightly bulging belly may be a symbol of reproductive worship, just as the sexual characteristics in many female images in art history are very prominent, which means her exuberant fertility.
Later, historians found the diary of Mrs. Arnold Fini's mother in this painting, which recorded that her daughter died three years before the painting was created! In view of this, some historians think that the woman in the painting may be the second wife of Arnold Fini, but unfortunately, the details of this second wife are not recorded in the archives of Arnold Fini family, which makes the interpretation of this painting come to a deadlock again.
? At the same time, some people have provided a new explanation for this painting. They think this painting is not a "wedding portrait", but a kind of painting with the nature of memory and commemoration. It is a memorial painting created by the famous painter Van Ecker at the invitation of Arnold Fini to commemorate his dead wife. According to this explanation, a series of symbols in the painting have also been given a new explanation, which finds evidence for those who hold this view: for example, the candles burning at the top of the picture are on Arnold Fini's side, but none of the candles on his wife's side are lit. The scene of Christ's crucifixion in the Toothrack, the scene of the wife tells the story of Christ's crucifixion and death, and the scene of the husband tells the scene of Christ's resurrection. The boundary between life and death is obvious in this painting. In addition, regarding the fruit in the painting, this is partially consistent with panofsky's point of view. It does represent the Garden of Eden, but its moral is to use the Garden of Eden, the best time of human past, to symbolize the theme of "memory" in the painting. The new explanation also found more detailed evidence: there is a tree outside the window in the painting, which proved to be a cherry tree. In Christianity, the cherry tree is the fruit of heaven, which also means that it is a painting to commemorate people who are already in heaven.
? So how does the new explanation answer the focus of "Mrs. Arnold Fini's belly"? They think this is the real cause of Mrs. Arnold Fini's death. In Mrs. Arnolfini's mother's diary, there is no mention of her daughter's death. The new explanation is that she may have died in childbirth. That's why Arnold Fini asked Van Eyck to draw a picture of his wife pregnant as a souvenir. So where is the evidence? It's on the bedside behind Mrs. Arnold Fini in the photo. If you look at the bedside carefully, you can see a wooden statue on it. According to textual research, this statue belongs to Margaret, the goddess in charge of fertility. Actually, this view is not far-fetched. Because at that time, due to backward medical conditions, it was extremely dangerous to have children. Many women died during childbirth, so at that time, a portrait of pregnant women was also popular. Some aristocratic women will ask the painter to paint their portraits before giving birth, just in case something happens, so there will not even be a portrait. In this way, the "pregnancy theory" made a comeback after nearly a hundred years.