Jan van Eyck & Frans Hals

Jan Van Eyck, The “Arnolfini Portrait.” 1434. Oil on panel. 33×22 1/2″ The National Gallery, London

Frans Hals, Married Couple in a Garden: Portrait of Issac Massa and Beatrix van der Laen.ca. 1622. Oil on canvas. 55×65 1/2″ Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Jan van Eyck & Frans Hals

Jan Van Eyck and Frans Hals are two big artists in the books that are widely compared together. Each have created an image both containing couples expressing some type of love bond or statement of commitment for each other. Even though there are great similarities between both paintings the Jan Van Eyck “Arnolfini Portrait” and Frans Hals “Married Couple in Garden, Portrait of Isaac Massa and Beatrix van der Laen,” one seems to carry more meaning and symbolism then the other but they still express strong incidental similarity between the couples and both seem to include the painter and us as an audience.

Eyck from the 15th century is recognized in history as the inventor of oil painting. He brought out this Flemish style and heavy Christian symbolism in his work. It is hard to pinpoint the beginnings of Jan’s life, (EYCK, Jan van or Jean) he had a brother that was apparently a painter and trained him in his early years of his life. Vast of his work is contradicting and the real meaning behind some of his pieces are still unknown.

Frans Hals came around a century later in the Baroque era from Haarlem, Antwerp. He surpassed others in his portraiture skills and he mostly drew everything from real life. His style, (Ingeborg Worm and Agnes Groot) includes heavy brush strokes that successfully created this light in his depictions. However, many people used to label the technique as lazy during his time. He definitely surpassed other artists during his time in the portraiture and genre work.

The oil painting by Jav Van Eyck is heavy with symbolism. Historians are not sure who these people are anyways and what exactly they are doing but it does seem to be some type of marriage contract. We get a sense of the painter in the picture as well through the reflection in the mirror and his signature above. Finding some text that explain what some of the objects in this painting mean, (DeWitte 384) the painting is filled with symbolism in objects and through religion. Depictions of Christ is in the wall with the mirror the candle could reference to Christ presence in their binding. There are also signs of great wealth in this picture, the mirror and chandelier are very expensive for the time. Oranges and Lemons were also expensive at the time and represent the time before the sinning in the Garden of Eden. The dog exemplifies fidelity as well as wealth. The man stands near a window to show that he is part of the outside and the woman stands near a bed with her hand on her stomach holding figs, this is all symbolizes the fact that she wants children.

The painting “Married Couple in Garden”, (Davis 715) is a little similar to Jan Van Eycks. This painting of this lavishly dressed couple in a garden on a beautiful day contains much more emotion then the painting before. While in Eycks painting we get a sense of still stares but in this garden image we feel them with their bright smiles. We also get a sense of the painter the way the couple is looking at us. They are dressed nicely so they must have some kind of fortune and they were able to afford this commission. There seems to be a valid emotional tie between the two and it doesn’t seem so much as a contract like Arnolfini. However, this paining in the garden seems to have no symbolism or hidden meaning just a sense of continuous action like the man is talking, the audience also get a feel for their affection.

Saying these two paintings the “Arnolfini Portrait” and the “Married Couple in Garden” are similar is true. The “Arnolfini Portrait” is fine and carries more heavy hidden symbolism and a mystery behind it, however, it lacks emotion and gives us a sense of forced contracted binding. The garden seems to just be a still moment in life of real happiness between these two and a sense of a moment where the man is communicating to the painter. Both give a sense of the painter, the reflection in the mirror from Eyck and the way the man and woman is looking and probably talking to the painter or viewers.

Davies, Penelope J. E. Janson’s History of Art: The Western Tradition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.

DeWitte, Debra J., Ralph M. Larmann, and M. Kathryn Shields. Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2012. Print.

“EYCK, Jan van or Jean.” Benezit Dictionary of Artists. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 25 Feb. 2017. <http://www.oxfordartonline.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/subscriber/article/benezit/B00060604>.

Ingeborg Worm and Agnes Groot. “Hals.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 25 Feb. 2017. <http://www.oxfordartonline.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T036318pg1>.