LEADER 04157oam 2200517 a 450 001 9910495891603321 005 20230828225625.0 010 $a0-585-36622-5 035 $a(CKB)111057870444222 035 $a(MH)004590405-7 035 $a(EXLCZ)99111057870444222 100 $a19930922d1994 ub 0 101 0 $aeng 200 14$aThe Arnolfini betrothal $emedieval marriage and the enigma of Van Eyck's double portrait /$fEdwin Hall$b[electronic resource] 210 $aBerkeley $cUniversity of California Press$dc1994 215 $a1 online resource (xxi, 180 p., 16 p. of plates )$cill. (some col.) ; 225 0$aCalifornia studies in the history of art.$pDiscovery series ;$v3 311 $a0-520-21221-5 311 $a0-520-08251-6 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 169-172) and index. 327 $aIntroduction: Rehistoricizing the Portrait -- 1. From Inventory Description to Symbolic Reading -- 2. On Marriage Law and Ceremony -- 3. Betrothal Custom and the Arnolfini Sponsalia -- 4. Problems of Symbolic Interpretation -- Appendix: A Fifteenth-Century Florentine Marriage Service Before a Notary. 330 $aCommonly known as the "Arnolfi Wedding" or "Giovanni Arnolfi and His Bride," Jan van Eyck's double portrait in the National Gallery, London, painted in 1434, is probably the most widely recognized panel painting of the fifteenth century. One of the great masterpieces of early Flemish art, this enigmatic picture has also aroused intense speculation as to its precise meaning. 330 8 $aErwin Panofsky's view that the painting represents a clandestine marriage was almost universally accepted until recently, when scholars began to abandon his principle of "disguised symbolism" in favor of more theoretical approaches to the panel's interpretation. Edwin Hall's study - firmly grounded in Roman and canon law, theology, literature, and the social history of the period - reveals new meaning for this wonderful painting: instead of depicting the sacrament of marriage, Hall argues, Van Eyck's double portrait commemorates the alliance between two wealthy and important Italian mercantile families, a ceremonious betrothal that reflects the social conventions of the time. 330 8 $aHall's illuminating book not only unlocks the mystery surrounding the content of this work of art; it also makes a unique contribution to the fascinating history of betrothal and marriage custom, ritual, and ceremony, tracing their evolution from the late Roman Empire thorough the fifteenth century and providing persuasive visual evidence for their development. 330 8 $aSince the fifteenth century, Jan van Eyck has been one of the most admired artists in the history of early northern painting. His pictures are jewels in themselves, crafted in luminous colors on wooden panels with a newly perfected oil technique, achieved by the application of transparent glazes over more opaque underlayers of pigment, permitting each detail to be rendered with astonishing verisimilitude. 330 8 $aThe Arnolfini double portrait is Van Eyck's quintessential work and a striking example of how art and its meaning endure and engage us for centuries. 531 $aARNOLFINI BETROTHAL 606 $aPanel painting$y15th century$xExpertising$zFlanders 606 $aPainting, Renaissance 606 $aPanel painting$y15th century$xExpertising 606 $aMarriage customs and rites, Medieval 615 0$aPanel painting$xExpertising 615 0$aPainting, Renaissance. 615 0$aPanel painting$xExpertising. 615 0$aMarriage customs and rites, Medieval. 676 $a759.9493 700 $aHall$b Edwin$f1928-$01234409 801 0$bDLC 801 1$bDLC 801 2$bDLC 801 2$bMH-FA 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910495891603321 996 $aThe Arnolfini betrothal$92867430 997 $aUNINA 999 $aThis Record contains information from the Harvard Library Bibliographic Dataset, which is provided by the Harvard Library under its Bibliographic Dataset Use Terms and includes data made available by, among others the Library of Congress