Jan van Eyck - Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife

          This artwork named Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife was painted by Jan van Eyck using oil on wood in 1434. The picture has two versions of interpretations. The first one is said that Jan van Eyck depicted the wedding of Giovanni, an Italian Financier, and his bride at Giovanni’s home. The second version states that the scene in the painting is a legal scene which depicts Giovanni gave his wife a special permission. Despite of the different interpretations, the picture mainly depicts a vow that was made between Giovanni and his wife and Jan van Eyck was the witness. This picture is interesting to me because several symbolic objects appear in the scene. For example, Giovanni’s shoes are near the window which represents the symbolic of a man who is always the one working outside, and the wife is next to the bed which characterizes the symbolic of a woman who should always takes care housing works. The colors of the picture are also vivid which help create three dimensional illusions as well as the depth of the painting.