"The Arnolfini Portrait" by Jan van Eyck is an oil painting from 1434 on oak panel. This is a double full-length portrait of the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, in their house in the Flemish town of Bruges. It is one of the most original and complex paintings in Western art, due to its beauty and the space provided for the image through the use of a mirror. His wife is not pregnant but is holding her skirt dress in today's fashion. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “The Portrait of Arnolfini” provides a clear record of the subjects' social status. The woman's dress is decorated with fur and features an extreme amount of fabric. The man is dressed in a cap and a fur-lined coat. These clothes place the couple among the wealthy citizens of Bruges. The small size of the space, the wooden clogs worn on the floor to protect against street dirt, and the absence of ostentatious gold jewelry all indicate a middle-class rather than noble status. However, the chandelier, decorative mirror and oriental rug, as well as the expensive oranges on the side dresser, are visible indicators of significant wealth. Van Eyck used the method of applying layer upon layer of thin, glossy glazes to create a painting with a concentration of quality and color. The vibrant colors also help to emphasize reality and show the substantial wealth and luxury of Arnolfini's world. The medium of oil painting also allowed van Eyck to capture the presence of the surface and distinguish textures with precision. He also focused the effects of direct and diffuse light by showing the light from the left window reflected by many surfaces. It has been suggested that he used a magnifying glass to paint the smallest details such as the specific reflections of each of the amber beads hanging next to the mirror. The view in the mirror shows two figures inside the door the couple is facing. Above the mirror, in the center of the image, the man holds his wife's hand in the palm of his. The stiffness of the posture is also illustrated by the man's raised hand, signifying that he is taking an oath. Maybe that's why there are two people in the doorway. They could be observers of the wedding of Arnolfini and his wife. The appearance of the painting was remarkable for its time, partly for the implementation of details, but also for the use of light in space, for its altogether important depiction of a room, as well as the people who live there. Meaning is given to the portrait and its details, and there has been much debate about it, according to Craig Harbison the painting "is the only surviving 15th-century Norse panel in which the artist's contemporaries are represented engaged in some sort of action. in a contemporary interior. The analysis mode I used is combined analysis. I used it because there was so much detail to understand this work, there was so much more to look at and analyze about this painting. The symbolism of this painting is limitless and very complex. After researching this painting, I believe Van Eyck created this work with religious significance, even though it is set in a seemingly secular situation. » The National Gallery, www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/jan-van-eyck-the-arnolfini-portrait “The Arnolfini Portrait” (1434). Portrait of Arnolfini, Jan Van Eyck: Interpretation, Analysis, www.visual-arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/arnolfini-portrait.htm «.