In today’s class, we began discussing the artistic developments occurring in northern Europe during the 15th century. Artists in the north were particularly concerned with realism and reflecting reality, in a way their Italian counterparts were not yet. Not only did they want to depict life in their works, but they also wanted them to convey meaning. They did this through the use of “disguised symbolism” which involved placing small, ordinary objects in the background of the scene that would convey a certain meaning. They wanted these objects to blend into the rest of the scene, but a trained eye could spot them and get at what the artist was trying to say in this piece.
This is seen best of all in Jan van Eyck’s “Arnolfini Portrait“. This work has a number of disguised symbols throughout the piece. One example is the two pairs of shoes visible on the ground. This is supposed to represent that a sacramental moment is taking place, or that they are standing on holy ground. There is a small dog, which is not only meant to represent loyalty but also the exotic breed of the dog is meant to show the wealth of the couple. There is also a bowl of fruit sitting by the window that represents fertility. There are many other symbols in the work and they are all meant to represent the qualities of an idle marriage – loyalty, prosperity, dedication, and so on.