Book

Harbison, Craig.

Jan van Eyck : the play of realism / Craig Harbison.

London : Reaktion Books ; Seattle : Distributed in the USA and Canada by the University of Washington, 1991.

228 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 29 cm

Jan van Eyck's surviving work comprises a series of painstakingly detailed oil paintings of astonishing verisimilitude. In a fascinating recovery of the neglected human dimension that is clearly present in these works, Craig Harbison interrogates the personal histories of the worldly participants of such masterpieces as the Virgin and Child with George van der Paele, the Arnolfini Double Portrait and the Virgin and Child with Nicolas Rolin. With the aid of abundant visual evidence in color and in black and white, Harbison reveals how van Eyck presented his contemporaries with a more subtle and complex view of the value of appearances as a route to understanding the meaning of life. "I found this an enthralling study"--"The Sunday Telegraph "A fascinating investigation into the nature of the great pioneer's clients ... some fine photo details"--"Art Review Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Eyck, Jan van, 1390-1440 -- Criticism and interpretation.

Realism in art.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 204-223) and index.

1. Introduction -- 2. Van Eyck's realism -- 3. The artist's place at the Burgundian Court -- 4. An Italian courtier's story -- 5. The ecclesiastical compact of the secular canon -- 6. Private devotion in a schismatic church -- 7. The function of religious belief for van Eyck -- 8. The doctrine of Mary -- 9. The sacrament of the altar -- 10. The patrons of domestic religious imagery -- 11. The confession of Chancellor Nicolas Rolin -- 12. Patronage by Burgundian Court functionaries -- 13. Literary sources for van Eyck's art -- 14. Physical format and verbal inscription -- 15. A litany to the Sacred Heart of Jesus -- 16. Architectural style and sculptural symbolism -- 17. Van Eyck's modern icon -- 18. The image and experience of pilgrimage -- 19. Pretence and scepticism in the fifteenth century -- 20. A different perspective in the "Ghent Altarpiece" -- 21 The interpretation of early Netherlandish painting.

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