The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck

The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck

Portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife by Jan Van Eyck is another National Gallery gem that makes up Gallery Town’s Renaissance collection. This work is a portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, but is not intended as a record of their wedding. His wife is not pregnant, as is often thought, but holding up her full-skirted dress in the contemporary fashion. Arnolfini was a member of a merchant family from Lucca living in Bruges and the couple are shown in a well-appointed interior. The ornate Latin signature translates as 'Jan van Eyck was here 1434'. The similarity to modern graffiti is not accidental. Van Eyck often inscribed his pictures in a witty way. The mirror reflects two figures in the doorway - One may be the painter himself? Arnolfini raises his right hand as he faces them, perhaps as a greeting. Van Eyck was intensely interested in the effects of light: oil paint allowed him to depict it with great subtlety in this picture, notably on the gleaming brass chandelier. This piece of installed art is one of those hard to find on the Gallery Town Tour. It is situated at the top of an Alleyway, Vicarage Lane,that displays a beautiful stained glass arcade across the middle of it. Vicarage Lane is one of the old cobbled streets of Rotherham and the ideal place to approach this from is on College Street next to Specsavers Opticians. You will be able to view the masterpiece at the top of the alleyway past the stained glass arcade – and approach for a closer inspection whilst feeling the character of industrial walls around you - a real gem in the Gallery Town Tour.

May, 31, 2015

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