The story of one masterpiece: "The Arnolfini Portrait" by Jan van Eyck. Jan van Eyck - biography and paintings of the artist in the genre of the Northern Renaissance - Art Challenge

Plot

The main charm of the picture is that we cannot say with absolute certainty who is depicted on it and under what circumstances. If you do not dive into the details of the investigations carried out by numerous art historians, the main version, which has the most supporters, is that Jan van Eyck portrayed the merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini with his wife.

"Portrait of the Arnolfini Couple". (wikipedia.org)

We also do not know what moment in the life of the couple is captured. According to one version, - marriage: Giovanni folded his fingers as it happened during the oath; in the reflection of the mirror on the wall, two are visible - witnesses of the ceremony; man and woman are dressed festively and richly.

According to another version, the portrait was painted after the death of the woman. Giovanni di Nicolao married 13-year-old Constanta Trenta in 1426. Her mother Bartholomew, in a letter dated February 26, 1433, addressed to Lorenzo Medici, informs about the death of Constanta. The extinguished candle in the chandelier above the woman is interpreted as further evidence that the painting was painted after the lady's death.

Opponents of the hypothesis that the painting depicts a wedding indicate that the heroes have rings on the wrong hands and on the wrong fingers. Plus, a handshake is not typical for wedding ceremonies.

By the way, there is a hypothesis that in the picture van Eyck depicted himself with his wife Margarita. In favor of this, the researchers point to the portrait resemblance of the depicted lady and the artist's wife, as well as the statuette of Saint Margaret (depicted above the bed) - she allegedly hints at the name of the heroine. Plus, van Eyck's wife gave birth in the same year that the canvas was painted.

The heroes are richly dressed, latest fashion Northern Europe, which in the second quarter of the 15th century was distinguished by a fair amount of extravagance. Take, for example, hats. Needless to say, beauty is a terrible force.

It seems that the woman is pregnant: the abdomen is enlarged, she is standing with her body tilted back and her hand on her stomach. However, if you look at the ladies in other portraits of that time, it will seem that if not each, then half of them are pregnant. It was fashionable then to take a pose, tilting the body back and putting the stomach forward - the so-called Gothic curve. And the hand lying on the stomach can be a symbol of the feminine principle.

The heroes are depicted in festive attire, but in a simple interior. The latter was most likely invented by van Eyck: he collected it from fragments seen in other houses and invented by himself. The result is a space filled with symbols.

A dog is a sign of well-being, a symbol of loyalty and devotion. Fruits (according to one version, oranges, according to the other - apples) can speak both of the wealth of the family and symbolize purity and innocence. Cherry outside the window - a wish for fertility in marriage. The red alcove on the right is a symbol of the bridal chamber and a classic attribute of the scenes of the Annunciation, the Nativity of Christ and the Nativity of the Virgin. The woman stands near the bed, which underlines her role as the keeper of the hearth. The man is depicted at an open window, which speaks of his connection with the outside world.

The couple are representatives of a well-to-do burghers, as evidenced by their clothes. A dress with such an impressive train was impossible to wear without help.

Context

The Arnolfini were a large merchant and banking family, which at that time had a branch in Bruges. And van Eyck, who lived at the time of writing the picture, in the same city, could well have received this order. And he could give it himself out of friendship. Well-to-do burghers and an artist could have been friends.

Almost photographic accuracy is the result of experiments with optical instruments. Presumably, van Eyck, with the help of a concave mirror, traced inverted projections of the depicted objects on the basis of the painting or even applying paint over the projection. This hypothesis has both supporters (who indicate errors in perspective) and opponents (who note that at that time it was extremely difficult to find an optical device of the required diameter).

Dominic Lampsonius. Portrait of Jan van Eyck. (wikipedia.org)

Realism is also backed up by technology. Van Eyck worked with oil, which was an innovation for his time. Thanks to the properties of oil paints, you can apply several layers and, together with the play of light and shadow, create the illusion of three-dimensional space.

Van Eyck was almost the first to sign his painting. True, there were some mysteries here too. Firstly, the signature is indicated not modestly in the lower corner, but in a clearly visible place between the chandelier and the mirror. Instead of the classic phrase “the canvas was painted with something,” the artist wrote “Jan van Eyck was here”, reinforcing the version that he is one of the witnesses depicted in the reflection of the mirror.

The fate of the artist

Jan van Eyck's exact date of birth is unknown. Presumably, he was born in the north of Holland at the end of the XIV century. His brother taught him how to hold a brush in his hands and the basics of artistic craft. When the time came to earn his own bread, Jan went to The Hague, where he began to build a career at the court of the counts. I must say that he was highly appreciated, and he did not sit without orders. Between 1425 and 1430, van Eyck traveled a lot in Europe, met with colleagues in the shop, as they say. Having become accustomed to the European cultural community, van Eyck settled in Bruges, where he spent the rest of his days.

"Portrait of the Arnolfini Couple" is one of the artist's most popular works. However, his other creation is called great - the Ghent altar. Just imagine the scale: 24 panels, on them - 258 figures, the maximum height is 3.5 meters, the width when unfolded is 5 meters. And everything is about worship, apostles, prophets, forefathers, martyrs and saints to the Lamb, symbolizing Christ.

Van Eyck Jan(circa 1390-1441), Dutch painter. One of the pioneers of art Early Renaissance in the Netherlands."Most chief artist our century ”- this is how Jan van Eyck was called by his younger contemporary, the Italian humanist Bartolomeo Fazio. The same enthusiastic assessment was given after a century and a half. Dutch painter and biographer of Dutch artists Karel van Mander: “What neither the Greeks, nor the Romans, nor other peoples were given to realize, despite all their efforts, was succeeded by the famous Jan van Eyck, who was born on the banks of the lovely river Meuse, which can now challenge the palm tree primacy with Arno, Po and the proud Tiber, since such a luminary rose on its banks that even Italy, the land of the arts, was amazed by its brilliance. ”Very little documentary information has survived about the artist's life and work. Jan van Eyck was born in Maaseik between 1390 and 1400. In 1422, Van Eyck entered the service of John of Bavaria, ruler of Holland, Zeeland and Genegau. For him, the artist did work for the palace in The Hague. From 1425 to 1429 he was the court painter of the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good in Lille. The Duke appreciated Jan as clever, educated person, in the words of the duke, "unparalleled in art and knowledge." Often, Jan van Eyck, on the instructions of Philip the Good, carried out complex diplomatic assignments. The information reported by the chroniclers of that time speaks of the artist as a versatile gifted person. The already mentioned Bartolomeo Fazio wrote in the "Book of Famous Men" that Jan was enthusiastically engaged in geometry, created a kind of geographic map... The artist's experiments in the field of oil paint technology speak of knowledge in chemistry. His paintings demonstrate a thorough acquaintance with the world of plants and flowers. There are many ambiguities in creative biography Yana. The main thing is Jan's relationship with his older brother Hubert van Eyck, with whom he studied and with whom he performed a number of works. There are disputes over individual paintings by the artist: about their content, painting technique. The work of Jan and Hubert van Eyck owes much to the art of the illustrators of the Limburg brothers and the altar master Melchior Bruderlam, who worked at the Burgundian court at the beginning of the 15th century in the style of Zion painting of the 14th century. Yang developed this style, creating on its basis new style more realistic and individual, heralding a decisive turn in altar painting in Northern Europe. In all likelihood, Jan began his career with miniature. Some researchers attribute several best sheets("The funeral service" and "The taking of Christ into custody", 1415-1417), the so-called Turin-Milan book of hours, performed for the Duke of Berry. One of them depicts Saint Julian and Saint Martha carrying Christ across the river. True images of various phenomena of reality were found in Dutch miniature before van Eyck, but before, no artist knew how to combine individual elements with such art into holistic image... Van Eyck is also credited with the authorship of some of the early altars, such as the Crucifixion. In 1431, van Eyck settled in Bruges, where he became a court painter, as well as an artist of the city. A year later, the artist completed his masterpiece - the Ghent Altarpiece, a large polyptych consisting of 12 oak doors. His elder brother began work on the altar, but Hubert died in 1426, and Jan continued his work.

Madonna of Chancellor Rolen 1435, Louvre Museum, Paris. "Madonna of Chancellor Rolen" (1435) - one of best works master. “The stones shine, the brocade shines with colors, and every fluff of fur and every wrinkle of the face irresistibly attracts the eye. How expressive, how significant are the features of the kneeling Chancellor of Burgundy! What could be more magnificent than his vestments? It seems that you are touching this gold and this brocade, and the picture itself appears before you either as a piece of jewelry or as a majestic monument. It is not for nothing that at the Burgundian court, such paintings were kept in treasuries next to golden caskets, books of hours with sparkling miniatures and precious relics. Peer into the hair of the Madonna - what in the world could be softer than it? Into the crown that the angel holds over her - how she shines in the shadows! And behind the main figures and behind a thin colonnade there is a river leaving in a bend and a medieval city, where Vaneik's amazing painting sparkles in every detail ”.

" Madonna of Chancellor Rolen ", details

The artist is equally interested in both man in all his unique individuality and the world around him. In his compositions, portraits, landscapes, interiors, and still life appear as equals and form a harmonious unity. The extraordinary thoroughness and at the same time the generalization of the painting reveal the intrinsic value and beauty of each object that acquires real weight and volume in the work of van Eyck, the characteristic texture of the surface. Details and the whole are in an organic relationship: architectural elements, furnishings, flowering plants, luxurious fabrics decorated with precious stones, as it were, embody the particles of the infinite beauty of the universe: the panoramic landscape full of light and air in the "Madonna of Chancellor Rolen" is perceived as collective image The universe.

Portrait of the Arnolfini couple 1434, National Gallery, London.The double "Portrait of the Arnolfini Couple" (1434), along with the Ghent Altarpiece, is the most important work of van Eyck. By design, it has no analogues in the 15th century. An Italian merchant, a representative of the Medici banking house in Bruges, is depicted in a marriage chamber with his young wife Giovanna Chenami.

Madonna and child, 1433

Lucca Madonna , 1430, Stadel Institute of the Arts, Frankfurt am Main

Madonna canon van der Palais 1436, Art Gallery, Bruges

Stigmatizing Saint Francis 1429 This small painting was painted in Spain 1428-29.
There is a later copy (circa 1450) in the Sabauda Gallery, Turin, Italy. Having retired to Mount Alverna in 1224, Francis once, while in prayer, saw a vision, which, according to Thomas Chelansky, represented a man like Seraphim with six wings. his arms were outstretched, and his legs stood "in the shape of a cross." Contemplating this, Francis discovered the signs of Christ's wounds that appeared on his body (arms, legs and chest) and remained on him until his death, which came two years later..

Madonna with a Carthusian monk

Altar of the Virgin Mary 1437

The central panel of the small altarpiece represents the Madonna and Child in the church, the left panel depicts St. George and the donor (the one who ordered the triptych), the right panel - St. Catherine. The Annunciation is depicted closed on the doors of the triptych.

Madonna and child, 1439

Jan van Eyck was also a remarkable innovator in the field of portraiture. He was the first to replace the chest type with a belt type, and also introduced a three-quarter turn. He laid the foundation for that portrait method, when the artist focuses on the appearance of a person and sees in him a definite and unique personality. Examples are Timothy (1432), Portrait of a Man in a Red Hat (1433), Portrait of His Wife, Marguerite van Eyck (1439), Portrait of Baudouin de Lannoy.

Portrait of a man in a turban, 1433 (according to one version - a self-portrait of the artist)

Portrait of wife Margrethe van Eyck, 1439

Portrait of Cardinal Albergati, 1432

Portrait of Baudouin de Lanoy, 1435

Timofey 1420

Portrait of a Man from Garofano 1435

Portrait of Jan de Leeuw 1436

Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini 1435

Portrait of a Jeweler (Man with a Ring) 1430

St. Barbara 1437, oil on wood, 31 x 18 ccm Royal Museum of Fine Arts 1437, Antwerp

This work is the subject of a long debate among scholars who have not come to a common opinion whether this work is a finished drawing or an unwritten painting. The silvery drawing was made with the finest brush on a primed board (looks like marble) inserted into the author's frame with the inscription: "John van Eyck made me in 1437". Behind the back of a beautiful virgin sitting on a hill with a book and a palm branch of the martyr in her hands, a tower is being built, which is her attribute, but interpreted by van Eyck in a genre key with the image of a mass of labor episodes.

Saint Jerome

Madonna in the church 1422-1425

Not later than 1426 it was written “ Madonna in the church"- one of the early works of Van Eyck. Like most of his works, the picture seems to glow from the inside, giving rise to a feeling of sublime joy. This striking internal glow effect was achieved by the layer-by-layer application of oil paint on a white gypsum primer, carefully sanded and varnished. The asymmetrical composition, unusual for Van Eyck, is explained by the fact that it is the left wing of the diptych. The other wing is lost, but copies from that time confirm this.

Annunciation1420

Annunciation 1435

These two panels show " Crucifixion" and " The last judgment ". It is assumed that the panels were the wings of a triptych, the central group of which is lost. However, according to the themes of the paintings, it is impossible to say whether it was originally conceived as a diptych or a triptych. These two small paintings can be viewed for a long time and with interest. Each detail is written carefully and in detail. - from the alpine landscape, subtle body Christ and feelings on the faces of people before the scenes of Hell and Paradise The inscriptions at the top of the panels are sayings from the Bible.

Sconce tya Jan and Hubert van Eyck Ghent Altarpiece rolled up with closed shutters

Van Eyck has long been considered the inventor of oil paints. However, in reality, he just improved them. The recipe for making paints discovered by the artist turned out to be so successful that soon oil painting firmly established itself in Dutch art, and subsequently spread throughout Europe, occupying a dominant position in European painting and keeping it up to late XIX v. Though oil paints were used already in the XIV century, but van Eyck, in all likelihood, created a new mixture of paints, possibly tempera with oil, thanks to which he achieved an unprecedented luminosity, as well as varnish, which gives the picture impenetrability and shine. He was one of the first to master plastic possibilities. oil painting using thin, translucent layers of paint, laid one on top of the other (Flemish manner of multi-layered translucent writing). This mixture also made it possible to soften and nuance colors. In the art of van Eyck, the new technique served as an exceptionally thoughtful composition, allowing to convey the unity of space. The artist owned a perspective image and, combining it with the transmission of light, created a plastic effect, until then unattainable. Van Eyck is considered one of the most significant artists of his time. He laid the foundation for a new vision of the world, the impact of which extends far beyond his era. The artist died in Bruges in 1441. In van Eyck's epitaph it is written: “Here lies John, glorious for his extraordinary virtues, in whom his love for painting was amazing; he painted images of people breathing with life, and the land with flowering herbs, and all living things he glorified with his art ... "

(about 1390 - 1441)

With the work of Jan van Eyck, a Dutch painter of the 15th century, the formation of the principles of the Renaissance in Northern Europe... Overcoming the traditions of medieval art, he relied on a living observation of reality, strove for an objective reproduction of life. Far from the scientific development of the problems of perspective and anatomy, not knowing the ancient heritage, this artist, in contrast to the Italian masters, relied more on his own experience. He closely studied the structure objective world capturing the peculiarities of each subject, landscape or interior environment. Special meaning the artist gave the image of a person, sought to convey the unique appearance of each of the characters in his paintings.

Jan van Eyck's works are distinguished by color saturation, careful, almost jewelry-like detailing, and confident organization of an integral composition. Tradition also associates the artist's name with the improvement of the oil painting technique - the repeated application of thin, transparent layers of paints, which makes it possible to achieve a high intensity of each color.

The artist studied with his older brother Hubert, with whom he worked on the execution of the famous Ghent Altarpiece (1426 - 1432, Cathedral of St. Bavo, Ghent). But if in the paintings made by Hubert there is still a tangible connection with the medieval tradition, then Jan strives for something new: he interprets religious subjects as concrete images of reality. Every motive of the living and visual, beautiful and colorful world is valuable to him. In the miniatures of the Turin-Milanese Book of Hours, the artist masterfully paints landscapes full of air and light. The realistic tendencies of Jan van Eyck's art were especially clearly manifested in the field of portraiture, which at that time was being formed into an independent genre. The main thing for the artist is the spiritual world of a person, the individual character of the model. One of the masterpieces of Jan van Eyck's portrait work is The Portrait of the Arnolfini Couple (1434, National Gallery, London). For the first time in the history of a European portrait, a companion portrait... The artist represents the eminent Italian merchant with his wife against the background of the living room. He carefully conveys the entire atmosphere of the burgher's mansion, every detail. Soft light fills the interior. In the figures themselves, shown in height, there is a lot of deliberate representativeness, but at the same time living, real takes on the individual character of the people depicted. In this, as in other portraits of Jan van Eyck, a new idea of ​​a person, of his place in the world was embodied.

The creativity of this outstanding artist, which marked the beginning of the realistic tradition dutch painting, - a bright page in the history of world art.

- (Eusk), Dutch painter; see Van Eyck Yang. (Source: "Popular Art Encyclopedia." Art encyclopedia

There are articles on Wikipedia about other people with this last name, see Eyck. Jacob van Eyck Full name netherl. Jacob van Eyck Date of birth 1590 (1590) ... Wikipedia

Eyck Jan van (c. 1390 ≈ 1441), Dutch painter; see Van Eyck I ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Dominic Lampsonius. Portrait of Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck (elder) (Dutch Jan van Eyck, c. 1385 or 1390 1441) Flemish painter of the early Renaissance, master of portrait, author of more than 100 compositions on religious subjects, one of the first painters, ... ... Wikipedia

Eyck, Jan van- (Eyck, Jan van) Ok. 1390, Maaseik, near Maastricht 1441, Bruges. Dutch painter. The founder of the early Renaissance style in painting of the Northern Renaissance. He studied, perhaps, with his older brother Hubert van Eyck. Court painter ... ... European Art: Painting. Sculpture. Graphics: Encyclopedia

Eyck (German Eick, Dutch Eijk, Eyck)) surname. Notable media: Painters Eyck, Hubert van (1370 1426) Flemish painter, elder brother of Jan van Eyck. Eyck, Jan van (1385 or 1390 1441) Flemish painter of the early ... ... Wikipedia

Yang, see Eik Yang van. (Source: "Art. Contemporary Illustrated Encyclopedia." Edited by Prof. AP Gorkin; Moscow: Rosmen; 2007.) ... Art encyclopedia

See Van Eyck ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (eyck) Jan van (c. 1390, Maaseik, near Maastricht - 1441, Bruges), Dutch artist, one of the founders of Northern Renaissance art. He studied, possibly, with his older brother Hubert. Sharing the brothers' artistic heritage is ... ... Art encyclopedia

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Dutch painter Jan Van Eyck

Introduction

Van Eyck Jan (circa 1390-1441), Dutch painter. The main representative and one of the founders of Early Renaissance art in the Netherlands. In 1422-24 he worked on the decoration of the count's castle in The Hague, from 1425 the court painter of the Burgundian duke Philip the Good. In 1427 he visited Spain, in 1428-29 Portugal. Around 1430 he settled in Bruges.

Most major work Van Eyck - the famous "Ghent Altar" (polyptych in the Cathedral of St. Bavo in Ghent). According to the later inscription on the altar, the painter Hubert van Eyck began it and graduated in 1432 Jan (Hubert, Jan's elder brother, worked in the 1420s in Ghent, where he died in 1426).

The question of the work of Hubert van Eyck and his participation in the work on the "Ghent Altar" remains controversial. According to most scholars, Hubert could only begin work on the central parts of the altar, but in general, the altar was made by Jan Van Eyck. Despite the presence of archaic features in a number of scenes, the "Ghent Altar" opens a new era in the history of Dutch art. Religious symbolism is transformed in him into concrete, vital, convincing and tangible images. The nude figures of Adam and Eve are depicted on the altar with exceptional realistic boldness and unadorned truth; the figures of angels singing and playing music on the side panels are distinguished by their volumetric and plastic tangibility; landscape backgrounds in scenes of worship of the Lamb are distinguished by subtle poetry and skill in conveying space and light-airy environment.

The pinnacle of Van Eyck's work is monumental altar compositions (Madonna of Chancellor Rolen, circa 1436, Louvre; Madonna of Canon van der Palais, 1436, Municipal Art Gallery, Bruges). Developing and enriching the achievements of his predecessors (R. Kampen and others), Van Eyck transforms the traditional scene of deity worship into a majestic and colorful image of the visible, real world, filled with calm contemplation. Van Eyck is equally interested in both man in all his unique individuality and the world around him. In Van Eyck's compositions, portraits, landscapes, interiors, and still life play an essential and equal role. Extreme care and at the same time bold generalization of painting reveal the peculiarities and beauty of each object, which acquires real weight and volume, the characteristic texture of the surface. Details and the whole are in an organic relationship: architectural details, furnishings, flowering plants, precious stones and fabrics that adorn the clothes of the Mother of God and the figures worshiping her, as if embodying a particle of the infinite beauty of the universe; The panoramic landscape filled with light and air in the Madonna of Chancellor Rolen is perceived as a collective harmonious image of the Universe.

Van Eyck's art is imbued with a deep understanding of the logical laws of everything that exists, the expression of which is a strict, thoughtful and at the same time vital natural construction of the composition, full of a subtle sense of spatial proportionality. Solution posed by Van Eyck creative problems required the development of new artistic means.

Van Eyck was one of the first to master plastic and expressive possibilities oil painting, using thin transparent layers of paint, laid one on top of the other (the so-called Flemish manner of multilayer transparent writing). This pictorial method allowed Van Eyck to achieve exceptional depth, richness and luminosity of color, as well as the subtlety of cut-off and colorful transitions. The sonorous, intense, clean tones of colors in Van Eyck's paintings are, as it were, permeated with air and light and are united into a single harmonious colorful whole. Van Eyck's pictorial discoveries played an important role in the history of world painting.

Van Eyck was one of the first great masters in Europe portrait painting... In the work of Van Eyck, the portrait stood out as an independent genre. In bust portraits created by Van Eyck (usually in a three-quarter spread), characterized by strict simplicity and refinement of means (Timothy, 1432, The Man in the Red Headdress, 1433, both in the National Gallery, London; portrait of the artist's wife Margaret Van Eyck, 1439, Municipal Art Gallery, Bruges), impartially truthful and careful transfer of the external features of a person is subordinated to the keen-sighted and insightful disclosure of the main features of his character. Portrait images artist reflect a deep awareness of the dignity and worth of the human person. Van Eyck created the first pair portrait in European painting, depicting the merchant G. Arnolfini with his wife in the center of a small burgher's room full of soft light and comfort (1434, National Gallery, London).

Van Eyck's work, based largely on religious beliefs, reflected at the same time the awareness of beauty, diversity and value of real life and served in many ways as the starting point for the development of realism in the history of European painting. It has largely defined the paths further development Dutch painting, the range of its interests and problems. The powerful influence of Van Eyck's art was experienced not only by Dutch, but also by Italian masters (Antonello da Messina and others).

Biography

"The most important artist of our century" - so called Jan van Eyck<#"justify">Interesting Facts

· In the history of art "Portrait of the Arnolfini couple<#"justify">Since until the 15th century it was not customary to sign your paintings.

There are several theories trying to explain the sudden transition to realism<#"justify">Eyck painter lyricism composition

Description of paintings

One of the stages of the portrait evolution of Jan van Eyck's work is the so-called "Timofey" portrait. Otherwise, this painting is called "Portrait of a Young Man". The painting was painted by the artist in 1432 in oil on board. This is a half-length image of an ugly, quiet person who gazes into space, devoid of a definite expression. However, the duration, purity, thoughtfulness and non-fixedness of this look make one feel that the person portrayed is full of modesty and piety, sincerely open to the world. Timothy's gaze establishes a certain relationship between him and the outside world. It is twofold; we can say that the outer world, penetrating through the eyes of Timothy, is transformed into a new quality - into the inner sphere of man. And at the same time, like a ray caught in another medium and refracted by it, it does not lose its nature. Timothy's view asserts both the involvement of his universe and the presence in it of a deep spiritual life. We do not know anything definite about her, but we feel her, and it is no coincidence that the eyes in the portraits of van Eyck most often have a shade of mystery that is insoluble for the viewer.

In the painting by van Eyck, a portrait of a man in a turban, executed in 1433 (London, National Gallery), the expression on his face becomes more active. The person being portrayed is close to the edge of the picture, his eyes are turned to us (although it is still impossible to say that he is looking at you). His gaze, more intent than that of Timothy, has a certain taste of bitterness, that is, his emotional coloring is more specific. In these portraits, there is neither a developed characteristic, nor certain mental movements... They are replaced by prolonged, timeless contemplation. And contemplation for van Eyck is not an individual property of a model. For him, it is rather a quality that determines a person's place in the world (as for Italian portraits, such a quality was the ability to act, to actively manifest his inner energy). And the individual beginning in the portraits of van Eyck is reflected exclusively in how a person contemplates the world, how he is turned to the world. Actually, the value of a person is for van Eyck in the ability to feel his indissoluble connection, fusion with the world. The general state with this kind of perception is one - a kind of brooding sadness. But guessing about its specific content is in vain. We are only given to know that Timofey looks into the world with a quiet lyrical thoughtfulness, and the man in a turban is drier and more bitter. The psychological orientation in both cases is the same, but its tone, its emotional coloring is different.

In 1434, Jan van Eyck painted a portrait, usually considered to depict an Italian merchant from Lucca, a representative of the interests of the Medici house in Bruges, Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife Joanna (London, National Gallery). This portrait not only captures both Arnolfini, but also represents them in a certain plot and everyday situation: the master depicted the moment of the wedding. The spouses are in the room. Giovanni Arnolfini holds the hand of Joanna (or Giovanna) Chenani, his young bride. A small dog, slippers, fruits on the windowsill, a single candle, a rosary hanging on a nail, floorboards and a carpet - everything is written out with jewelry precision. Perhaps the painting was commissioned by the artist to perpetuate this happy union and, like a witness at a marriage ceremony, he signed on the far wall: Johannes de Eyk fuit hic (Jan van Eyck was here). In the mirror below the inscription, a couple of newlyweds and a third figure, presumably an artist, a witness of the event, are reflected from the back. The image of Giovanni is interpreted similarly to the portraits of Timothy and a man in a turban. But the master lowered his gaze - and he no longer recedes into space. The spiritual world, as it were, is closed in the person himself and already shines with its own light, and not the reflected light of the universe. Van Eyck does not list the features of the person being portrayed. But he seems to obey his model, he writes it in a "character" that corresponds to it, and the painting style strikes with cold and brilliant confidence, unusual for van Eyck, but so corresponding to the essence of Arnolfini. With keen and intent observation, he notes narrow, sunken temples, a chin cut by a hollow, somewhat crooked lips and an especially long oval of the face, also a long, cartilaginous nose with sophisticatedly curved nostrils, cool, light eyes covered by eyelids, and a faint blush on pale cheeks. Giovanni's narrow hand, with a motionlessly bent little finger, hung in the air - not moving or stopping, a hand with an unexpressed, even hidden character. And Giovanna's hand is open to meet her - also thin, but completely different in its tender underdevelopment. Giovanni stands with an almost prayerful concentration. It is not worth as much as it is to be. But we, led to his blessing and warning movement, perceive him as an expression of Arnolfini's severity, seriousness. On the contrary, the passive subordination of Giovanna's gesture to her husband's gesture, the less concentration of her gaze and some idealization give her touching and soft features of submissiveness. The smooth, enamel-like painting surface of the painting is achieved through the application of pigment mixed with linseed oil, numerous layers of glaze. Then the painting was varnished. Jan van Eyck and his brother Hubert, who used this technique, were traditionally considered the "inventors" of oil painting. Van Eyck's style was often imitated but could never be surpassed.

In the altarpiece "Madonna of Chancellor Rolen", the artist's method becomes more complicated. The painting "Madonna of Chancellor Nicolas Rolen" (Louvre Museum, Paris) was created by Jan van Eyck in 1435. Not very large (0.66x0.62 m), it seems larger than its actual size. The images are tougher and more defined. The endless panorama opens solemnly through three arched spans. The architectural and landscape part does not form a lyrical and harmonious unity with people, but acts as an important, independent image: Rollen is opposed to a landscape with residential buildings, Mary is opposed to a panorama of churches, and the lines of a distant bridge located along the central axis with figures of pedestrians and horsemen moving along it as would establish a connection between Rolene and the blessing gesture of the infant Christ. The growing certainty of images (Rolene is one of van Eyck's harshest images) and the conscious emphasis on the unity of man with the universe indicate that (as in the portrait of the Arnolfini couple) the artist is faced with the need to further develop or modify his painting system.

Actually, the painting "Madonna Canon Van der Palais" was commissioned by Canon Georg van der Palais. The implementation of these new trends took place around 1436. In any case, in 1436 the master created an altar composition, in many respects different from his previous works - "Madonna of Canon van der Palais" (Bruges, Museum). Rhythms and forms have become larger here, they have become heavier and more measured. Jan van Eyck in the painting "Madonna of Canon van der Palais" managed to create a clear dominance of the spirit of imperturbable and static poise. The stage participants are characterized by representativeness, unconditional dignity that does not require manifestations.

Compared to the previous heroes of van Eyck, these do not so much watch themselves as allow the viewer to observe their smooth semicircle. They are no longer afraid to obscure the landscape or close the perspective. The young, not like mothers, but the older sisters of the Madonnas of previous years, were replaced by another - a majestic, calmly occupying main part The figures of the four participants in the scene (Madonna, Saint Domitian, Saint George and the donor Pale) acquired increased material mass. Arched spans do not open up distant spaces or complex architectural aspects. Jan van Eyck brought the heroes of his picture closer to us and limited our field of vision. The perspective of Chancellor Rolen's Madonna closed, the window of the Dresden triptych closed.

But Jan van Eyck went even further. For all his significance, Chancellor Rolen (in the aforementioned altar) is not the main character. His image is equal to the image of the Madonna and is inferior to the artistic activity of the landscape panorama. In Madonna van der Pal, the artist turned the donor into almost the main face of the composition. The kneeling van der Palé dominates the picture. Both Mary and Saint Domitian are turned to him, his overweight figure in white vestments attracts our attention, and the graceful patron of the canon, Saint George, graciously raising his helmet, introduces him to the Madonna. The same man, taking off his glasses and placing his finger on the necessary pages of the prayer book, raised a sullen, heavy, pondering gaze. He does not contemplate, but reflects. And in this rearrangement of the emphasis from turning a person into the world to his immersion in himself - the anticipation of the subsequent tendencies of Dutch art. Here, too, color raises the image to a certain higher level. But its activity and, at the same time, density are special. The velvet vestment of Saint Domitian takes on an incredible sonority of color. Its sunlit folds are bluer than real color is possible. And when combined with the red - the garment of Mary - and the white - the canon, - they form a powerful shining chord. But it is precisely due to the limitation of this chord that features of the new appear in it - a self-contained color activity that is impossible in those works where the master completely subordinated his art to the idea of ​​the universe.

All the works of Jan van Eyck after 1436 bear in themselves an echo of the pathos of objectivity, which in such a sharp form manifested itself in the painting "Madonna of Canon van der Palais." But the intrinsic significance of the image is combined in them with a certain prosaic interpretation. The faces depicted by the artist become more specific, more characteristic. The portrait of Jan de Leeuw, despite its very small size, seems monumental: to such an extent, the model emphasizes the solidity of the appearance and the harsh directness of the inner world. Jan de Leeuw is not looking at the world, but at us. Next to him, Timothy and the man in the turban seem distant and out of reach for live contact. The increasing concreteness and reality of the image of a person in later works Jan van Eyck is unusually fast and manifests itself in different ways. In the unfinished Saint Barbara (1437; Antwerp, Museum), it is noticeable in the interpretation of the second and third plan, where the construction of the temple is depicted in detail, and the distant hills receive a clear and orderly solution. In the painting "Madonna at the Fountain" (1439; Antwerp, Museum), it is seen in the desire to neutralize the activity of the perspective construction of the background (with the help of figures of angels holding the curtain and flowers) and focus on the image of a person. The pictorial solution emphasizes not so much the beauty of the universe as the decorative richness of the picture. The color acquires strength, richness, a still unprecedented power of sound, but behind it we no longer feel the former - touching and shy - admiration of the artist Jan van Eyck.

The most consistently new features of the method are embodied in the last portrait of the master - the portrait of his wife Margrethe van Eyck. Here behind the specificity external appearance character analysis begins to emerge. If in the portraits of Timothy and the man in the red turban the image of the portrayed was only part of a more general image (the image of a person as part of the universe), then here the creation of an individual image exhausts the artist's intention. Van Eyck has never created such objective portraits. And he never turned to such an unusually thin, at the same time more refined than deep range: fabric red with a violet tint - gray fur edge - gray-pink face with very pale lips. The artist's painting "Portrait of Wife Margrethe van Eyck" completes the first stage of the Dutch Renaissance and testifies to van Eyck's entry into a new phase in the development of Dutch art that was already characteristic of the 1440s. His death in 1441 interrupted his further activities. The brothers Jan and Hubert van Eyck occupy an exceptional place in their contemporary art. But they weren't alone. Simultaneously with them, other painters worked in North Flanders, stylistically and in a problematic relation to them.

Ghent polyptych by brothers van Eyck (Cathedral of Saint Bavo, Ghent) - central piece art of the Northern Renaissance. This is a grandiose, multi-part structure, measuring 3.435 meters by 4.435 meters. The multi-winged altar was originally intended for the side chapel of John the Baptist in Saint-Bavo in Ghent. A careful analysis of the altar made it possible to distinguish in it the work of both brothers - Hubert and Jan. Hubert, who began work, died in 1426, but the altar was completed in 1432 by Jan, who executed the panels that make up the outer side of the altar and, to a large extent, the inner sides of the side panels (however, Jan's hand is also discernible in a number of scenes painted by Hubert , and the general integrity of the polyptych testifies to the leading role of the elder brother). When comparing the procession on the inner side of the side panels with the scene of the worship of the lamb, it can be seen that in Jan's work the figures are grouped more freely. Jan pays more attention to the person than Hubert. The figures he painted are more harmonious, they more consistently, evenly reveal the precious nature of man and the world.

On holidays, the doors were pulled apart. The light airy scene in Mary's room was revealed - literally and figuratively - in its very essence. The altar becomes twice as large (thanks to the open doors), it acquires a wide and solemn polyphonic sound. It lights up with a deep color glow. The transparent, luminous scene of the Annunciation is replaced by a majestic and magnificent row of figures. They are subject to special laws. Each figure is like an extraction, a concentration of reality. And each is subject to a joyous, triumphant hierarchy, headed by God. He is the focal point of the entire system. He is the largest of all, he is pushed back and sublime, he is motionless and, the only one, is turned outside the altar. His face is serious. He directs his gaze into space, and his steady gesture is devoid of randomness. It is a blessing, but also an affirmation of the highest necessity. He is in color - in a red burning color, which is spilled everywhere, which flares up in the most secret corners of the polyptych and only in the folds of his clothes acquires its highest burning. From the figure of the god-father, as from the beginning, as from the starting point, the hierarchy solemnly unfolds.

Mary and John the Baptist, pictured beside him, are subordinate to him; are also sublime, they are deprived of its stable symmetry. In them, plastic is not defeated by color and the endless, deep sonority of color does not turn into intense, flaming combustion. They are more material, they are not fused with the background. Angels are represented next. They are like younger sisters Mary. And the color in these doors fades and becomes warmer. But, as if to compensate for the weakened color activity, they are presented singing. The accuracy of their facial expressions makes the pitch and transparency of the sound of their chants clear for the viewer, as if actually perceived. And the stronger and more material the manifestation of Adam and Eve. Their nakedness is not just indicated, but presented in all its obviousness. They stand tall, convex real. We see how the skin on the knees and hands of Adam turns pink, how the forms of Eve turn round.

Thus, the upper tier of the altar unfolds as a hierarchy of realities striking in its successive change. The lower tier, depicting the worship of the lamb, is decided in a different way and is opposed to the upper one. Luminous, seemingly immense, it stretches from the foreground, where the structure of each flower is discernible, to infinity, where slender verticals of cypresses and churches alternate in a free sequence. This tier has panoramic properties. His heroes do not appear as single entities, but as parts of a multitude: from all over the earth, in a measured movement, priests and hermits, prophets and apostles, martyrs and holy wives gather in processions. In silence or singing, they surround the sacred lamb - a symbol of Christ's sacrificial mission. Their solemn communities pass before us, earthly and heavenly expanses open in all their brilliance, and the landscape takes on an exciting and new meaning - more than just a distant view, it is transformed into a kind of embodiment of the universe. The lower tier represents a different aspect of reality than the upper one, but both of them constitute a unity. In combination with the spaciousness of "Worship", the color of the clothes of the God-father flames even deeper. At the same time, his grandiose figure does not suppress the environment - he rises, as if radiating from himself the beginnings of beauty and reality, he crowns and embraces everything. And as a center of balance, as a point that completes everything compositional construction, placed under his figure, a precious openwork crown iridescent with all imaginable multicolor. It is not difficult to see in the Ghent altar the principles of miniatures of the 20s of the 15th century, but in the polyptych they are erected into a complete artistic, ideological system.

When closed, the Ghent Altarpiece is a two-tier composition, the lower tier of which is occupied by images of statues of two John - the Baptist and the Evangelist, on either side of which are kneeling customers - Jodokus Wade and Elizabeth Burlut; the upper tier is dedicated to the "Annunciation" scene, which is crowned with the figures of sibyls and prophets, completing the composition. The lower tier of the altar thanks to the image real people and the naturalness, tangibility of the statues, more than the upper one, is associated with the environment in which the viewer is. The color scheme of this tier seems to be dense and heavy. On the contrary, the "Annunciation" seems to be more detached, its coloring is bright, and the space is not closed. The artist pushes the heroes - the evangelizing angel and Mary offering thanksgiving - to the edges of the stage. And it frees the entire space of the room, fills it with light. This light, to an even greater extent than in Madonna in the Church, has a twofold nature - it introduces a sublime principle, but it also poeticizes the pure comfort of ordinary everyday life.

And as if to prove the unity of these two aspects of life - the universal, the sublime and the real, everyday life - the central panels of the Annunciation are assigned to a view of the distant perspective of the city and to the depiction of a touching detail of household items - a washbasin with a towel hanging beside it. The artist diligently avoids the limited space. Light, even luminous, it continues outside the room, outside the windows, and where there is no window, there is a depression or a niche, and where there is no niche, the light falls as a sunbeam, repeating thin window frames on the wall. The entire outer part of the polyptych is subordinated to the idea of ​​the Annunciation, that is, the prediction of the coming into the world of Christ, and should, according to the artists' plan, precede the theme of redemption. And, corresponding to this task, the closed altar harbors a sense of joyful understatement and expectation. For all the solemnity of "Annunciation" - this is just one single scene, episode. Only the inner parts of the altar - representing the atonement of human sins - carry a sense of sublime and exciting accomplishment. It is not difficult to see in the Ghent altar the principles of miniatures of the 20s of the 15th century, but in the polyptych they are erected into a complete artistic, ideological system.

The desire in any scene, in any person and object to reflect mainly the beauty of the universe had a strong impact on the interpretation of space. Preserving the spaciousness and airiness of miniatures of the 20s of the 15th century, the Ghent Altar imparts to these qualities a programmatic adherence to principles, ideological meaning. There, man merged with the universe in a kind of landscape unity. Here, both the landscape distance, and the person, and the detail of the object have such an emphasized expressiveness that, to some extent depriving the scene of its everyday naturalness, making it more "still life", gives it tremendous power artistic and emotional impact. The principles embodied in the Ghent altar were not manifested in all images to the same extent. Thus, in the Ghent Altar, the ingenious finds of the author of the miniatures of the Turin Book of Hours gave tremendous results. And, in fact, even the comparative slowness and originality of the Renaissance development of the Netherlands, the absence of the cult of a bright, heroic individuality, which was so important in Italy, brought unexpectedly valuable fruits here.

The painting "Annunciation" was painted by the painter Jan van Eyck during the heyday of his talent. In essence, the scene is understood both as an event and as an upcoming action. In the painting, the artist depicts an evangelizing angel and a praying Mary, on whom the Holy Spirit descends. The painting by the artist Jan van Eyck is filled with subtle lyricism: the quiet joy of an angel, the emotional thrill and excitement of Mary. The multi-colored shine of glass, the shine of metal, the deep play of velvet and the enamel shine of heaven, more than anything else, convey the beauty with which the world is filled, the singularity, the preciousness of any particular and the entire universe as a whole.

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