The Annunciation by Jan van Eyck Notes

1. The Annunciation by Jan van EyckNotes • Jan van Eyck is know as “father of oil painting” • Mary and Angel Gabriel- people in painting • Mary’s words are written upside down for the Lord above to see • Lilies symbolize Mary’s purity • Pomegranates signify Christ’s resurrection- in the robe of the angel • The dove on the rays of light descends toward Mary • Floor panels illustrate Old and New Testament events. • Architecture moves from older rounded Romanesque to pointed Gothic arches.

2. Arnolfini WeddingJan van Ecyk • Raised right hand and the little dog are symbols of fidelity. • Clogs casted aside means the couple are standing on holy ground. • The peaches ripening on the chest are a sign of fertility. • Jan van Eyck witnessed and signed his name on the wall • The small convex mirror shows not only the backs of the couple but Jan van Eyck and another person.-marriage certificate!

3. Hunters in the SnowPieter Bruegel (Holland) • Series depicting the seasons of the year. • Love to paint peasants in their daily activities as well as at their festivals. • The hunt was part of a seasonal struggle of the peasants • Humans and nature are bound together as a working unit. • Bruegel has created depth in this artwork.

4. How has Bruegel created depth in Hunters in the Snow • Trees in the foreground are larger than the trees in the background. • Birds flying in the intervening space. • The line of trees marching down the hill unites the foreground with the middle distance and the distant Alpine peaks. • Simple human activities and ordinary landscapes receive extreme importance and dignity.