-Meticulous handling of oil paint; great concentration of minute details. -Linear perspective, but upturned ground plane and two horizon lines unlike contemporary Italian Renaissance art -Great care is taken in rendering elements of a contemporary Flemish bedroom
--Symbolism of weddings –The custom of burning a cable on the first night of a wedding –Shoes are cast off, indicating that the couple is standing on holy ground. –The groom is in a promising pose –The dog symbolizes fidelity
-Two witnesses in the convex mirror; perhaps the artist himself. Since the inscription reads “Jan van Eyck was here 1434” -The woman pulls up her dress to symbolize childbirth, although most likely she is not pregnant; the gesture may simply be a fashion of the time -The Statue of Saint Margaret, patron saint of childbirth, appears on the bedpost -The man is standing near the windows, symbolizing his role as someone who makes his way in the outside world; the woman appears further in the room to emphasize her role as a homemaker. -Wealth is displayed in the opulent furnishings, the elaborate clothing, and the importing of fresh oranges from southern Europe
Context
-Theories: -Traditionally assumed to be the wedding portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife -It may be a memorial to a dead wife, who could have died in childbirth -It may represent betrothal -Arnolfini may be conferring legal and business privileges on his wife during an absence -The painting may have been meant as a gift for the Arnolfini family in Italy. It has the purpose of showing the prosperity and wealth of the couple depicted