(Fig.) Arnolfini and His Wife (1434) (Les Epoux Arnolfini) 82x52.5 cm, National Gallery London. The Van Eyck brothers were the most outstanding and representative painters of Flanders; the older brother was Huber (1366–1426), and the younger brother was Jan (1380–1441?). They were pioneers of the genre painting and interior scenes that arose in Flanders, and among the first painters to masterfully utilize oil paint. Endowed with this new medium, they were able to depict the most precise portraits and subtlest light within naturalistic realism, thereby unifying light and harmonizing colors to delicately present excellent, perfect forms and natural spatiality. Their most famous masterpieces include Adoration of the Lamb (1432), Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife (1434), and The Doge and the Virgin (1434/36).

Arnolfini and His Wife (1434) (Les Epoux Arnolfini), a vivid double portrait of a couple, is Jan van Eyck’s most outstanding figure painting and one of the most distinctive works of the early Renaissance. It exquisitely depicts the dramatic wedding ceremony scene of the Italian merchant Arnolfini in a room; from the groom’s noble fur-lined coat, black hat, and the bride’s magnificent green robe, to the indoor furniture and decorations, one can glimpse the social appearance of the Flemish middle class at that time. The groom raises his right hand as if making a vow, while his other hand gently holds the bride’s hand, metaphorically symbolizing their union. The bride, wearing a traditional Flemish white headdress and shawl, places her left hand on her seemingly pregnant, protruding abdomen, signifying many children, or perhaps the wooden clogs by the groom’s feet indicate a pair. Of course, the small dog below traditionally symbolizes eternal loyalty; a lit candle on the chandelier above represents love; fruits on the windowsill imply fertility; and carefully observing the spotless round mirror on the opposite wall, along with the string of crystals hanging beside it, all symbolize the purity of young maidens. The round mirror is decorated with a frame featuring relief carvings of the Passion of Jesus Christ, reflecting the religious sentiment of the era. Most ingeniously, the mirror on the wall reflects the entire dramatic wedding scene, including the background of the groom and bride, the priest, and witnesses (possibly the painter himself) in the foreground. This extraordinary spatial presentation demonstrates remarkable imagination, an unusual expression for the Renaissance. The signature of this painting is inscribed at the top of the mirror.