There has been a world of discussion on this subject, but there can be
no doubt that John van Eyck, called John of Bruges, and by the Italians,
Giovanni da Bruggia, and Gio. Abeyk or Eyck, is entitled to the honor of
the invention of Oil Painting as applied to pictures, though Mr. Raspe,
the celebrated antiquary, in his treatise on the invention of Oil
Painting, has satisfactorily proved that Oil Painting was practised in
Italy as early as the 11th century, but only as a means of protecting
metalic substances from rust.
According to van Mander, the method of painting in Flanders previous to
the time of the van Eycks, was with gums, or a preparation called
egg-water, to which a kind of varnish was afterwards applied in
finishing, which required a certain degree of heat to dry. John van Eyck
having worked a long time on a picture and finished it with great care,
placed it in the sun-shine to dry, when the board on which it was
painted split and spoiled the work. His disappointment at seeing so much
labor lost, urged him to attempt the discovery, by his knowledge of
chemistry, of some process which would not in future expose him to such
an unfortunate accident. In his researches, he discovered the use of
linseed and nut oil, which he found most siccative. This is generally
believed to have happened about 1410. There is however, a great deal of
contradiction among writers as to the van Eycks, no two writers being
found to agree. Some assert that John van Eyck introduced his invention
both into Italy and Spain, while others declare that he never left his
own country, which would seem to be true. Vasari, the first writer on
Italian art, awards the invention to Giovanni da Bruggia, and gives an
account of its first introduction into Italy by Antonello da Messina, as
we shall presently see. But Dominici asserts that oil painting was known
and practised at Naples by artists whose names had been forgotten long
before the time of van Eyck. Many other Italian writers have engaged in
the controversy, and cited many instances of pictures which they
supposed to have been painted in oil at Milan, Pisa, Naples, and
elsewhere, as early as the 13th, 12th, and even the 9th centuries. But
to proceed with the brothers van Eyck, John and Hubert--they generally
painted in concert till the death of Hubert, and executed many works in
oil, which were held in the highest estimation at the time when they
flourished. Their most important work was an altar-piece, with folding
doors, painted for Jodocus Vyts, who placed it in the church of St.
Bavon at Ghent. The principal picture in this curious production
represents the Adoration of the Lamb as described by St. John in the
Revelations. On one of the folding doors is represented Adam and Eve,
and on the other, St. Cecilia. This extraordinary work contains over
three hundred figures, and is finished with the greatest care and
exactness. It was formerly in the Louvre, but it is now unfortunately
divided into two parts, one of which is at Berlin, and the other at
Ghent. Philip I. of Spain desired to purchase it, but finding that
impracticable, he employed Michael Coxis to copy it, who spent two years
in doing: it, for which he received 4,000 florins. The king placed this
copy in the Escurial, and this probably gave rise to the story that John
van Eyck visited Spain and introduced his discovery into that country.
In the sacristy of the cathedral at Bruges is preserved with great
veneration, a picture painted by John van Eyck, after the death of
Hubert, representing the Virgin and Infant, with St. George, St.
Donatius, and other saints. It is dated 1436. John died in 1441.
According to Vasari, the fame of Masaccio drew Antonello da Messina to
Rome; from thence he proceeded to Naples, where he saw some oil
paintings by John van Eyck, which had been brought to Naples from
Flanders, by some Neapolitan merchants, and presented or sold to
Alphonso I., King of Naples. The novelty of the invention, and the
beauty of the coloring inspired Antonello with so strong a desire to
become possessed of the secret, that he went to Bruges, and so far
ingratiated himself into the favor of van Eyck, then advanced in years,
that he instructed him in the art. Antonello afterwards returned to
Venice, where he secretly practised the art for some time, communicating
it only to Domenico Veneziano, his favorite scholar. Veneziano settled
at Florence, where his works were greatly admired both on account of
their excellence and the novelty of the process. Here he unfortunately
formed a connexion with Andrea del Castagno, an eminent Tuscan painter,
who treacherously murdered Domenico, that he might become, as he
supposed, the sole possessor of the secret. Castagno artfully concealed
the atrocious deed till on his death-bed, when struck with remorse, he
confessed the crime for which innocent persons had suffered. Vasari also
says that Giovanni Bellini obtained the art surreptitiously from
Messina, by disguising himself and sitting for his portrait, thus
gaining an opportunity to observe his method of operating; but Lanzi has
shown that Messina made the method public on receiving a pension from
the Venetian Senate. Many writers have appeared, who deny the above
statement of Vasari; but Lanzi, who carefully investigated the whole
subject, finds no just reason to claim for his countrymen priority of
the invention, or to doubt the correctness of Vasari's statement in the
main. Those old paintings at Milan, Pisa, Naples, Vienna, and elsewhere,
have been carefully examined and proved to have been painted in
encaustic or distemper. This subject will be found fully discussed in
Spooner's Dictionary of Painters, Engravers, Sculptors, and Architects,
under the articles John and Hubert van Eyck, Antonello da Messina,
Domenico Veneziano, Andrea del Castagno, and Roger of Bruges.