Giovanni Arnolfini And Flanders Comparison

Many paintings from the early 1400’s start noticeably portraying two different categories of art: the “head” and the “heart”. It is a belief that a piece of art is either portrayed to entice a viewer’s intelligence or their “head,” or their emotions which is the “heart.” We can look at great painters from centuries ago and compare their works into these two classifications. Additionally, there are numerous factors and different styles artists use to make their works of art either intellectual or emotional. One can ultimately conclude why an art piece belongs into one of those two classifications. The first painting we could classify into the emotional category is Jan Van Eycks, “Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride,” from 15th century Flanders.
He also shows this technique to discreet emotional symbolism that is seen at first glance. But what can be seen at first glance is Giovanni Arnofini, a financier in the city of Bruges and a representative for the Medici family. He is holding his wife’s hand and they are taking their wedding vows. They are also surrounded by many items and colors that all hold a different interpretation. For example, there is a small brownish-black dog at the feet of the couple. The dog symbolizes trust since the name for that type of dog means Fido from the Latin word fidere meaning trust. There are also other signs of marriage, such as the customary bridal clogs and one lit candle on the chandelier. On a more detailed level, there is a convex mirror located on the back wall. If a viewer looked closely enough, they could see small depictions of ‘Passions of Christ,’ as well as Jan Van Eyck’s signature around it. He signs it, “Jan Van Eyck was here,” as if maybe he was considered to be a witness for their marriage. If someone were look at this during this time in Flanders, they would quickly understand what this painting was for, the symbols, and relate to it on a deeper level, and feel the emotion of