VAN EYCK

Often imitated but never equalled, Jan van Eyck (c.1390-1441) left an indelible impression on Renaissance art and paved the way for future realist painters. With its unprecedented precision and masterful use of colour, Arnolfini Double Portrait, depicting the wedding of a young couple, is testament to the mastery of the Flemish painter and leader of the Early Netherlandish school. Van Eyck painted both secular and religious subject matter, emphasizing a naturalism and realism that moved seamlessly between 15th century everyday life and poetic, heavenly settings. Working with oil paint, he innovated the medium, allowing for great intensity and depth of colour. It is clear that the naturalism and elegant composition of Jan?s later painting owe much to such early 15th-century illuminators as the anonymous Boucicaut Master and the Limbourg brothers, who worked for the Burgundian dukes. Trace the artist's impressive oeuvre in this hardcover survey of his work, including altarpieces, religious figures, and commissioned portraits. Featuring enlarged details and close analyses of masterpieces like the Ghent Altarpiece (The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, 1432), this publication also offers a chronology of van Eyck's production, including the output of his workshop which continued even after his death. Colour. 21 x 26cm, 96 pages.