The Jan van eyke Painting is my favorite, the one with the spherical mirorr in the background. Is the lady...

Question

Really not pregnant...she really looks pregnant!

Answer 1

This painting is a portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife in a room, presumably in their home in the Flemish city of Bruges.
Although many people today mistakenly assume the wife to be pregnant, this is not believed to be so: art historians point to numerous paintings of female saints similarly dressed, and believe that this look was fashionable for women's dresses at the time. See this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnolfini_Portrait

Answer 2

I would like to add my four pennyworth although the experts have said most of it. Jan Van Eyck is the most famous Dutch painter, born in 1370, for his interest in chemistry led him to discover that colours 'prepared with linseed or walnut oil would retain their beauty without the assistance of varnish'. . It has been said that he was therefore the discoverer/inventor of oil painting. Early books (1700'ish ) say that 'his taste of design is not very elegant' but that goes above my head for as far as I am concerned the "Wedding" picture is sensational. Much has been attributed to symbolic expression in his paintings - for example 'the round mirror' gains a mark for an icon of purity and goodness. What a wonderful question - you've really got us going!

Answer 3

The Marriage of Giovanni Arnolfini and Giovanna Cenami... I believe she is pregnant. However if you notice, she is holding up a portion of her gown so that it is draping down and back up again creating that rounded effect. It's shorter at the bottom in the middle. She is actually holding a point of the gown over the gold sash. That is the artist in the convex mirror in the background. There is a lot of symbolism in it. The most beautiful I think is that they are barefoot symbolizing their trust in each other and the golden rope hanging from a nail in the wall - a rope as used in handfastings - binding them together. And I love the dog! Pax - C

Answer 4

Although many modern viewers mistakenly assume the wife to be pregnant, this is not believed to be so: art historians point to numerous paintings of female saints similarly dressed, and believe that this look was fashionable for women's dresses at the time.



Some Interpretation and symbolism of the painting are:


The placement of the two figures suggests conventional gender roles – the woman stands near the bed and well into the room, symbolic of her role as the caretaker, whereas the man stands near the open window, symbolic of the outside world.

Giovanni looks directly out at the viewer, his wife gazes obediently at her husband. His hand is vertically raised, representing his commanding position of authority, whilst she has her hand in a lower, horizontal, more submissive pose.

The oranges on the chest below the window may refer to fertility and symbolize the purity and innocence that reigned in the Garden of Eden before the Fall of Man.

The cast-aside clogs are possibly a gesture of respect for the wedding ceremony and also indicate that this event is taking place on holy ground. Husbands traditionally presented brides with clogs.

The little dog symbolizes fidelity.

The green of the woman’s dress symbolises hope, possibly the hope of becoming a mother. Her white cap signifies purity.

Behind the pair, the curtains of the marriage bed have been opened, depicting that the couple have been visited and blessed by the Trinity. The red curtains allude to the physical act of love, the carnal union of the married couple.

The contrast between red and green, which appear side by side in the painting, suggest the coming together of opposites.






The single candle in the left rear holder of the ornate seven-branched chandelier, is possibly the candle used in traditional Flemish marriage customs.

Oddly lit in broad daylight, the candle alludes to the ever-present light of God.
Alternatively, in Margaret Koster's memorial portrait theory, the single lit candle on Giovanni's side contrasts with the burnt-out candle whose wax stub can just be seen on his wife's side. In a metaphor commonly used in literature, he lives on, she is dead.

There is a tiny ornament of the statue of Saint Margaret, patron saint of childbirth, on the bedpost, and from that hangs a brush symbolic of domestic care.

Furthermore, the brush and the rosary (a popular wedding gift) appearing together on either side of the mirror may also allude to the dual Christian injunctions ora et labora (pray and work).

The small medallions set into the frame of the convex mirror at the back of the room show tiny scenes from the Passion of Christ and represent God’s promise of salvation for the figures reflected on the mirror’s convex surface; the mirror itself represent the eye of the Christian God observing the vows of the wedding. A spotless mirror was itself an established symbol of Mary, referring to the Holy Virgin’s immaculate conception and purity.

The mirror reflects two figures in the doorway, one of whom may be the painter himself. In Panofsky's opinion, the figures are shown to prove that the two witnesses required to make a wedding legal were present.

Answer 5

It is actually disputed; art historians do not unanimously agree that she was not pregnant. The question is open to debate, although I personally believe that she was indeed pregnant.

Nor does their being barefoot have anything to do with their trust. It is a symbol that a sacred ceremony is taking place.

Answer 6

It would be strange to be/look pregnant in a 'marriage painting'. Because that's what it is.

It was a fashionable pose. Make your back arch like an 'S' and you'd be...hot (don't know the correct term of that age but I'm sure they had one)

Answer 7

wow