The Arnolfini Wedding or is it?
This painting has 3 different names and even more interpretations. Even the names of the people were not certain as the family had 2 Giovanni Arnolfinis! Let's get into the mystery.
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The question always arises: Was she pregnant? No. Mrs. Arnolfini is wearing the style of the day, which consisted of yards and yards of fabric. There was so much fabric that the women had to gather it up in front so they could walk. Often they would tuck it into the little belt they wore just above the waist.
Interesting symbolic images appear in this painting. Here the mirror tells the life of Christ. The part about his death and resurrection are over Mrs. Arnolfini's head
The chandelier has a burnt out candle over the woman's head but a lit one over the man's indicating she is no longer living.
Since the setting indicates it is not a portrait of a wedding, the painting became known as the Arnolfini Marriage, but which Arnolfini? Since the artist, Jan Van Eyck died in 1441 and Giovanni di Arigo married in 1446, it had to be the marriage of Giovanni di Nicolao. However, his wife died in 1433 and this painting was done in 1434.
Art historians noticing the likeness of the portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao and the man in this painting decided it was a memorial to his marriage, done a year after his wife's death. He gestures toward heaven to show that she is no longer on earth