eyelighter reflector photography neil van kirk

Taking a more theoretical tack on the analysis of Van Eyck’s influence is Alison Smith’s idea that the mirror signifies Victorian notions of order and sexual morality. William Holman Hunt, “The Lady of Shalott” (c.1886-1905) oil on wood 44.4 x 34.1 cm (Manchester Art Gallery © Manchester City Galleries/Bridgeman Images) Burne Jones, a British artist and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelites called the Arnolfini the “finest picture in the world“, and uses the convex mirror in a painting departing from narrative invention and literary/legendary basis in a portrait shown here of his daughter Margaret (1885–6). It is easy to see within the designs for the mirror in sketches for Hunt’s Lady of Shalott a direct visual reference to theArnolfini’s mirror, with its tiny painted scenes of the passion in radiating circles forming a halo. Its caption stating “As I can” is consciously borrowed by Morris for the frame of his “La Belle Iseult”.įrom here onwards, the convex mirror dominates. Van Eyck’s self-portrait arrived in 1933. A reduced scale copy of the Ghent altarpiece by Van Eyck and his brother Hubert is included to highlight that the original was on show in London circa 1819, implying its exposure to the Brotherhood. Secondary is the supporting influence of other paintings from the Low Countries which entered the National around the same time. Van Eyck’s Arnolfini forms the core of the exhibition. William Holman Hunt, “The Awakening Conscience” (1853) oil on canvas, 76.2 x 55.9 cm (© Tate, London) Such symbolism is what arguably lends impenetrability to much Netherlandish religious work, so much so that Erwin Panofsky famously spent a career interpreting it. The picture’s meaning and intent is communicated via complex symbolism as opposed to an explicit narrative.

In their output we can see immediately an affinity with the attention and importance that Van Eyck attaches to the physical world around us – his domestic marriage scene is full of specifically contemporary details and objects – rather than concern for historic scenes removed from real experience. This first piece from the Low Countries must have looked thoroughly alien amongst its new wall neighbors, and its impact appears to have been instrumental in the Brotherhood’s total rejection of the academic tradition, with its prescribed themes and dedication to naturalism. (As an aside, the Arnolfini benefits here from its temporary move the better lighting lends a refreshed vitality.) The Pre-Raphaelites emerged at a time when the National’s collection was largely comprised of traditional academic painting, dominated by either thematically weighty history scenes or frivolous decorative work. The Arnolfini arrived at the National in 1842, when William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais were studying at the Royal Academy Schools which then occupied the east part of the building. Jan van Eyck, “Untitled” (known in English as the Arnolfini Portrait) (1434) oil on panel, 82 x 59.5 cm (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons) The result is a distinctly lofty intellectual show which at times threatens to deviate from Van Eyck altogether. From this starting point, to contextualize the Brotherhood, the exhibition fragments into tangents: the predominant one being the theme of the curved mirror famously reflecting unseen guests in Van Eyck’s Arnolfini piece, through dazzling optical trickery (hence “Reflections”). For many, the supposed connection between Van Eyck and the Brotherhood will not be immediately apparent, therefore the evidence presented here, pinpointing the specific tangible influence of this singular painting will be a stimulating revelation.

LONDON - The term “Reflections” in the title of this National Gallery show, Reflections: Van Eyck and the Pre-Raphaelites- which explores the influence of Jan van Eyck, and specifically his painting commonly known as the “Arnolfini Portrait” upon the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood - emerges as a qualifying clause. John Everett Millais, “Mariana” (1851) oil on mahogany, 59.7 × 49.5 cm (© Tate, London)

Eyelighter reflector photography neil van kirk