Why it matters
The Italian merchant Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife stand in their room in Bruges, reflected in a convex mirror on the back wall. It is considered one of the most original and complex paintings in Western art.
Did you know?
- It is signed and dated 1434.
- Ernst Gombrich wrote that 'for the first time in history the artist became the perfect eye-witness'.
- Panofsky saw it as a kind of painted marriage contract.
- The National Gallery bought it in 1842.
Based on the Wikipedia article Arnolfini Portrait (CC BY-SA 4.0).
