Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
k night, enters the room, tips
his cap, and says, “I'd like to
introduce my namesake, George
(Joris).” Mary glances down at
the kneeling Joris, a church offi-
cial dressed in white. Joris takes
off his glasses and looks up from
his prayer book to see a bishop in
blue, St. Donatian, patron of the
church he hopes to be buried in.
Ca non Jor is , who h i re d
Van Eyck, is not a pretty sight.
He's old and wrinkled, with a double chin, weird earlobes, and
bloodshot eyes. But the portrait isn't unflattering, it just shows
unvarnished reality with crystal clarity.
Van Eyck brings Mary and the saints down from heaven and
into a typical (rich) Bruges home. He strips off their haloes, ban-
ishes all angels, and pulls the plug on heavenly radiance. If this is a
religious painting, then where's God?
God's in the details. From the bishop's damask robe and
Mary's wispy hair to the folds in Jesus' baby fat and the oriental
carpet to “Adonai” (Lord) written on St. George's breastplate, the
painting is as complex and beautiful as God's creation. The color
scheme—red Mary, white canon, and blue-and-gold saints—are
Bruges' city colors, from its coat of arms.
Mary, crowned with a jeweled “halo” and surrounded by
beautiful things, makes an appearance in 1400s Bruges, where she
can be adored in all her human beauty by Canon Joris...and by us,
reflected in the mirror-like shield on St. George's back.
Jan van eyck—
Portrait of Margareta van Eyck
(1439)
At 35, shortly after moving to Bruges, Jan van Eyck married
20-year-old Margareta. They had two kids, and after Jan died,
Margareta took charge of his studio of
assistants and kept it running until her
death. This portrait (age 33), when paired
with a matching self-portrait of Jan, was
one of Europe's f irst husband-and-wife
companion sets.
She sits half-turned, looking out
of the frame. ( Jan might have seen this
“where-have-you-been?” expression in the
window late one night.) She's dressed in a
red, fur-lined coat, and we catch a glimpse
of her wedding ring. Her hair is invisible—
very fashionable at the time—pulled back
