Week Ten: Post #9

I will have to say that throughout all the time periods we studied I was most struck by the work from Northern Europe. In comparison to the work created in Italy and the south. I appreciated the darkness of the images created in a colder and more harsh environment. In particular I enjoyed the work from the fifteenth century in Northern Europe and the work of Jan van Eyck most of all. I found myself very drawn to the interest in naturalism and the high level of detail that the artists of this period were able to produce. I was also most impressed by the artist ability to create these paintings that seem so advanced in skill for a time when they did not even have a strong handle on how perspective works! I loved the luminous colors and rich textures that were able to be incorporated through the invention and use of oil paint. I think that most of all the naturalism and realness of the work is what attracted me to this period of art in the north compared to the more idealized work that was created in the south.

Particularly I love the piece, Double Portrait of a Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife the iconography used in the mirror is amazing to me. I have a real tendency to think of people in history as stupid or primitive and I think I enjoy this painting so much in particular because it proves me wrong. I am very drawn to the calculated way in which Jan van Eyck made every decision involved in creating this piece. I love what is spelled out clearly in the painting for example the fact that van Eyck included his own name above the mirror; Jan Van Eyck was here, but also what remains a mystery. Like, is the woman depicted pregnant? So much is crystal clear in this painting except for things that should seem obvious. What event is being portrayed in this painting I love the juxtaposition.

Another piece of Jan van Eyck that I really enjoyed was the self portrait Man in a Red Turban. This again blew my mind with the complexity of thinking behind the piece. The inscription reading “As I can, [but not as I would]” forming an anagram of his own name this seems so crazy to me for the period. It shows that I have a lot to learn about history in general. I love the extreme detail portrayed in this portrait. I also love the use of chiaroscuro and other techniques that did not even exist during the period. It is amazing how easy it is to see the influence of Jan van Eyck’s work throughout the future generations of artist in the north, Albrecht Durer in particular. All of the work created in the north in the fifteenth century I found to be amazingly beautiful and so advanced. This seems to be what I liked most of all the works of Jean Fouquet and Rogier van der Weyden really expanded my mind as far as what art could be in this time period.