The Arnolfini Portrait is an oil painting on
oakpanel dated 1434 by the
Early Netherlandish painterJan van Eyck. This painting is believed to be a portrait of the Italian merchant
Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, presumably in their home in the
Flemish city of
Bruges. It is considered one of the most original and complex paintings in Western art history. The
illusionism of the painting was remarkable for its time, in part for the rendering of detail, but particularly for the use of light to evoke space in an interior.
The Arnolfini Portrait is an oil painting on
oakpanel dated 1434 by the
Early Netherlandish painterJan van Eyck. This painting is believed to be a portrait of the Italian merchant
Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, presumably in their home in the
Flemish city of
Bruges. It is considered one of the most original and complex paintings in Western art history. The
illusionism of the painting was remarkable for its time, in part for the rendering of detail, but particularly for the use of light to evoke space in an interior.