said concerning the {42} controversy that has arisen over the Ghent
altar-piece. This painting is indisputably the masterpiece of the
van Eycks, and is of stupendous proportions. The panel of the
_Adoration of the Lamb_, from which the whole alter-piece takes its
name, and the shutters depicting the _Just Judges_, the _Warriors of
Christ_, the _Holy Hermits_, and the _Holy Pilgrims_, have by many
critics been attributed to Hubert's unaided efforts. It is therefore
interesting to examine the landscape backgrounds of these five
panels, and to consider them in the light of the evidence deduced
from the backgrounds of the other "collaboration" pictures. Evidence
is needed to prove that Jan's work was not merely confined to
finishing the picture after his brother's death (the inscription
states that it was begun by Hubert and finished by Jan), which in
itself, of course, does not prove collaboration of the brothers.
In the first place, Jan's handiwork must be identified. In the
pictures already discussed it has been proved fairly conclusively
that Jan is responsible for the painting of the exotic plants, the
snow-mountains, the flock of wild geese, and the architectural
setting. The landscapes in the Ghent altar-piece contain exotic {43}
plants, wild geese, and snow-mountains. Of the latter it is
difficult to speak; they are whitish in colour, but their formation
is neither so natural nor so well designed as in the _Three Marys_.
The exotic plants alone prove Jan's work here. The birds may, or may
not, be very important. They serve, however, by their repeated
appearance in Jan's other pictures, as auxiliary evidence. The
question for proof, however, is not the presence of Jan's work on
this picture, but the presence of his work before the death of his
brother. And from this point of view it is significant that, though
other exotics are present in profusion, the palmetto--a sure result
of Jan's visit to Portugal--does not appear. The whole work is
stated in the inscription to have been finished on May 6, 1432, two
years after Jan's return from Portugal. Now, the absence of the
palmetto from this picture points to one of two conclusions--either
the work left for Jan to do in the completion was comparatively
trifling, or that the greater part of the picture, including the
design of the landscapes, was already finished before Jan met with
the palmetto.
That the work of the younger brother was not insignificant is
distinctly stated in the text {44} of the inscription: "The painter,
Hubert van Eyck, greater than whom none is to be found, began [the
work]; the bulk was completed by his brother Jan, second to him in
art, relying on the request of Jodoc Vydt. This verse invites you to
contemplate that which was completed on May 6, 1432." This
translation from the Latin is chosen from three versions. The other
renderings seem to be given by those who would translate the word
_pondus_ as _work_, and thus give the younger brother credit for no
more than finishing an incomplete picture. The text has, however,
been translated by several learned scholars, who are entirely free
from the taint of partisanship, and it is now generally agreed that
the translation given here is the correct one.
There is yet another possibility which the absence of the palmetto
points to--namely, that the picture was practically finished before
Jan's visit to Portugal, save some very minor details, which were
completed in 1432, The presence of the other exotics points to this
view being correct, for it would obviously be unlikely that Jan
should omit the palmetto from all these five landscapes after his
careful studies of his favourite plant. The other exotics, not being
{45} a result of the journey, may very well have been painted before
1429. Collaboration in this work is further proved by the portraits
of the two brothers.
{46}
OUR ILLUSTRATIONS
The supreme masterpiece of the brothers van Eyck, the work which, in
the history of Flemish art, has played the part that was allotted to
Masaccio's frescoes at the Carmine, Florence, in the art of Italy, is
the gigantic polyptych painted for the chapel of the Vydt family in
the Cathedral of St. John (now St. Bavo) in Ghent, and known from the
subject of the chief panel as the _Adoration of the Lamb_. In its
original form this altar-piece, which is now divided between St. Bavo
Cathedral and the museums of Berlin and Brussels, was composed of
twelve interior panels and a predella (which has unfortunately been
destroyed). Including the backs of the shutters, which, like the
panels themselves, are covered with the most minute and exquisite
painting, the painted surface extends to over 1,000 square feet. The
centre panel alone, from which the whole altar-piece takes its name,
measures 7¼ feet in width by 4½ feet in height.
{47}
Horizontally the whole altar-piece is divided into three portions.
The central panel of the middle tier is occupied by the _Adoration of
the Lamb_. Like the rest of the picture, it is treated in a
decorative spirit, the grouping of the figures, the architecture, and
the foliage being almost geometrically arranged and balanced. In a
very beautiful and peaceful landscape is set up, on a green mound in
the centre, an altar, upon which stands the Lamb of God. Its breast
is pierced in the customary manner, the sacred blood flowing into a
chalice at its feet. Immediately around the altar fourteen angels,
symbolical, probably, of the stations of the Passion of Christ, kneel
in adoration. The two in front of the altar offer incense, while
emblems of the Passion are held by others. The cross is held on the
left, and the pillar of the scourging stands on the right. In the
foreground, also in the centre and below the altar, is the Fountain
of Life, which divides two groups of worshippers: on the left are the
Jewish prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament, whilst the crowd
on the right is composed of Popes, Bishops, priests, monks, and
laymen. In the background, emerging from the luxuriant forest
immediately behind {48} the altar, two processions slowly wend their
way. The group on the right is composed of holy women, foremost of
whom come St. Agnes with a lamb, St. Catherine, and others. The
Procession on the left again includes Popes, Bishops, and monks.
These are said to be the confessors. Above all hovers the Holy Ghost
in the form of the dove.
The painting of these figures is most exquisite. The draperies are
soft and pleasing; the colour is deep and rich; while the faces are
remarkable for their character and variety of expression. The jewels
and ornaments worn by some of the Popes and Bishops are drawn with
loving care, and the enrichments of the vestments betray a patience
and skill that create wonder. In the distance, above the trees, are
seen cities with many towers and churches, behind which are hills in
the remote distance. The foreground of the beautiful, soft,
spring-like grass is profusely enriched by the growth of innumerable
flowers and shrubs, all of which are painted with consummate skill
and truth. The whole picture makes a profound effect by its
sumptuous splendour, and by the masterly disposal of light and shade.
The two panels on the left are the _Just Judges_ {49} and _Christ's
Warriors_. In the _Judges_ the whole lower half of the picture is
taken up by figures on horses. Behind a cliff in the middle distance
is seen a forest and some buildings of elaborate architecture, which
may represent tribunals. The bridles and trappings of the horses are
richly jewelled, and altogether the best is made of the opportunity
of rendering with goldsmith-like precision all manner of gorgeous
materials, costly and beautifully emblazoned banners, and armour and
trappings of beautiful design. Tradition has it that two of the
_Judges_ are portraits of the painters, the one in a black garment
with a red rosary, who is turning towards the spectator, being the
younger brother Jan. To strengthen the theory that this figure was
painted by Jan after Hubert's death, Mr. Weale suggests that the
black habit and red rosary denote mourning, probably for his brother
Hubert.
As regards the other panel, Mr. Six has advanced an interesting
theory with respect to the soldier who wears a blue head-dress. He
calls attention to a _pentimento_ in substituting for a crown on this
figure the blue head-dress. Mr. Six claims to have identified this
figure as Jean Sans Peur, who probably saw the painting, {50} and
objected to being represented with a crown while Godfrey de Bouillon
wore only a fur cap, and therefore persuaded the painter to alter it
to the blue cap or bonnet which was the badge of the Burgundians
against the Armagnacs. From this the supposed alteration must have
taken place a little after 1410, whereas, according to early art
historians, the altar-piece was only begun between 1415 and 1420.
[Illustration: THE JUST JUDGES, AND CHRIST'S WARRIORS. BY HUBERT AND
JAN VAN EYCK.]
Though the limitations of the present little volume make it
impossible to reproduce the other panels which originally formed part
of the colossal altar-piece, it will not be out of place here to
describe them in detail, as they all form part of a wonderfully
complete and harmonious scheme. As pendants to the _Judges_ and
_Warriors_, to the right of the central panel were the _Holy Hermits_
and the _Holy Pilgrims_. Rocks, cliff, and foliage are found in the
background of the hermits, but, as suggestive of retirement and
remoteness, no architecture is seen. The pilgrims are represented
walking up a valley towards the spectator. On the right, in the
background, is a hill covered with various trees, and in the distance
is seen a river and meadows, with a town and low hills beyond. The
pilgrims are led by St. Christopher, {51} whose giant proportions
tower above the rest of the procession.
The upper tier of the polyptych consists of seven panels, or rather
three panels, the combined width of which corresponds with that of
the _Adoration_ panel below, and two shutters on each side. The
grand figure in the centre panel, majestically enthroned, has been
variously held to represent God the Father and Christ, and the Latin
inscription may be equally applied to both. Perhaps it was the
painter's idea to personify both in one figure. On His brow is the
Crown of Heaven, and at His feet the Crown of Purity and Innocence,
which the Lamb has won on earth. The panel to His right shows the
Virgin, gazing in devotion at an open book in her hands--a conception
of such purity and innocence that it recalls the spirit of Fra
Angelico. To his left is the equally nobly conceived figure of St.
John, an open book in his lap, with his right hand raised, as it
were, in exhortation. The monumental style of these figures, and
their deep significance, leave no doubt that these panels are from
the brush of the elder brother Hubert.
These panels are flanked by two shutters on each side--a choir of
angels and St. Cecilia {52} with some angels within, and _Adam_ and
_Eve_ at the extreme ends. The relentless realism of the latter,
which borders close on ugliness, marks them as the work of Jan. The
figures are undoubtedly painted from life, and were held to be so
wonderful that for some time the whole altar-piece was known as the
"Adam and Eve painting." Jan may also be held responsible for the
angels and St. Cecilia, both of which have many characteristics that
tally with well-authenticated works by the master. The predella
which originally adorned the altar-piece has unfortunately been
destroyed. The reverse of the lower shutters shows the figures of
St. John the Evangelist, St. John the Baptist, and portraits of the
donor, Jodoc Vydt, and his wife; and of the upper shutters, the
Annunciation and figures of prophets and sibyls. Only the
_Adoration_ and the three important panels above (God the Father, the
Virgin, and St. John) remain at the Cathedral of St. Bavo at Ghent;
the _Adam_ and _Eve_ are now at the Brussels Museum, and the other
shutters at the Berlin Museum.
There are still extant portions of a copy of this great work which
was painted at the command of Philip II. of Spain by Michael {53}
Cocxie. The wings of this copy are now added to the original centre
portion at Ghent. There is a second copy of the Ghent altar-piece in
the museum of Antwerp.
Upon the consecration of the great masterpiece at St. Bavo vast
multitudes of people came into the city to see the work, the fame of
which soon became known throughout the whole of Western Europe. And
for more than four centuries it remained the wonder of Ghent.
Mr. R. Petrucci states that in 1904, during a demolition of a house
in the Rue du Gouvernement at Ghent, the old walls were discovered of
a Steen believed to have been the property of Jodoc Vydt, the patron
of the van Eycks, who commissioned them to execute the Ghent
polyptych. In a room upon the third floor, 40 feet up, a square
window was discovered exactly answering in orientation and position
to the town which appears in the _Adoration of the Lamb_, and which
has been recognised as a view over the Rue Courte du Jour. In the
foreground is seen the Steen, on the site of which was afterwards
built the little butcher's shop near the present bird-market. Above
it rises the tournelle of the weavers' chapel, which was used in turn
as a butcher's shop, a pleasure {54} resort, and a place of auction,
and is now a garage for motor-cars. Further away, in the background,
is the old fortified gate which defended the passage of the bridge of
the canal of the coppersmiths. On the left of the scene is a
representation of another front of the Steen, which stood on that
side at the corner of the Rue Courte du Jour and the Rue de Brabant.
The window reveals this scene exactly. "It seems certain," says Mr.
Petrucci, "that this was the room in which Hubert and Jan, or, at any
rate, Jan, van Eyck painted the famous polyptych of the Mystic Lamb."
* * * * *
The portrait group by Jan van Eyck known as _Jan Arnolfini and Jeanne
dc Chenany, his Wife_, must be counted among the greatest treasures
of the London National Gallery, as it is, perhaps, the most perfect
as well as the most characteristic example of the master's art.
Arnolfini, who was Jan's brother-in-law, a man of solemn and
depressing countenance, with heavy, drooping lids and long,
wide-nostrilled nose, is seen standing in his bed-chamber. His right
hand is raised as if enjoining silence, his left extended to his
wife, whose open countenance denotes docility and calm. {55}
Arnolfini wears a tunic of a dark green stuff, over which is a cloak
of dark red, which reaches well below the knees, and is lined and
edged with fur. It is divided at the sides from the bottom to the
shoulder. He wears a large and curiously shaped hat, which in a
manner resembles a "beefeater's" head-gear. His wife is habited in a
long and ample robe of green, rather bright in colour, and lined and
trimmed with white fur. She has raised the folds of the robe in
front, thus revealing an undergarment of dark blue, trimmed also with
fur. Round her strikingly high waist is a narrow belt of leather,
decorated with gilding and polished. On her head is a large kerchief
with a worked border, which is caught up at the sides in the
prevailing fashion. Round her neck she wears a double row of pearls.
The drawing of the drapery, which falls straight to the floor, is
bold and severe, realistic, and devoid of any attempt at affectation.
In the foreground is a small dog, and to the left, on the floor, a
pair of pattens. In the centre of the room, slightly behind and
above the heads of the figures, hangs a brass chandelier of pierced
work. Of its six arms only one holds a candle, and this is burning,
the {56} single flame being probably a symbol of conjugal affection
or unity, as there is no other reason for its presence in a chamber
well lit by two large windows on the left--one behind the figures and
one in advance, which is not shown, but the light from which falls
straight upon the faces. On the wall behind the two figures a
circular convex mirror reflects a portion of the room, with two
additional figures. Beside it hangs an amber rosary. The flesh
painting is admirably soft, delicate, and transparent; the light and
shade powerful, yet so well arranged that only the closest
examination will reveal what an important factor it is in the success
of the picture. The whole thing is touching in the simple
straightforwardness of statement, and all the details are wrought
with inimitable but unobtrusive minute precision. In the management
of tone-values and of indoors atmosphere Jan proves himself in this
picture far ahead of his time.
The signature of this Arnolfini picture is written in ornamental
Gothic characters immediately above the mirror, and takes the
extraordinary form "Johannes de Eyck fuit hic" (Jan van Eyck was
here), with the date 1434. Owing to this ambiguous wording, which
may {57} be, and has been, interpreted as "this was Jan van Eyck,"
the picture was formerly held to represent the artist himself and his
wife, a theory which still has its defenders. A full pedigree of the
picture is given in the National Gallery catalogue. It belonged in
1516 to Margaret of Austria, to whom it was given by Don Diego de
Guevara, whose arms were painted on the shutters which were
originally attached to it. Afterwards it passed into the hands of a
barber-surgeon at Bruges, who presented it to the then Regent of the
Netherlands, Mary, the sister of Charles V., and Queen Dowager of
Hungary. This Princess valued the picture so highly that she granted
the barber-surgeon in return a pension, or office, worth 100 florins
per annum. The picture is included in the list of valuables which
she carried with her to Spain in 1556, from which date it disappeared
until 1815, when it was discovered by Major-General Hay in the
apartments to which he was taken, in Brussels, to recover from wounds
received at Waterloo. He subsequently purchased the picture, and
disposed of it to the British Government in 1842, since which date it
has been at the National Gallery. Henri Bouchot was of opinion that
the picture is not {58} the one of Arnolfini the traces of which are
lost in 1556, but a portrait of van Eyck and his wife, painted as a
pendant to the lost Arnolfini group. To support his view he pointed
out the resemblance of the woman in this picture with the portrait of
Jan's wife at the Bruges Museum.
* * * * *
[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF TIMOTHY. BY JAN VAN EYCK.]
The portrait at the National Gallery which, from the name inscribed
in Greek characters on the stone parapet that extends across the
bottom of the panel, is known as the bust of Timothy, bears the date
October 10, 1432, and is therefore the earliest of Jan's signed and
dated pictures--always excepting the much-overpainted Chatsworth
panel of 1421. It is not in quite so good a state of preservation as
the other portrait of a man by Jan, in the same Gallery, which is
dated 1433, but the face itself is in fairly good condition. The
features are broad and massive, and inclined to heaviness; the eyes
are somewhat deep-set, while the cheek-bones are prominent. His
right hand holds a small roll of parchment with some writing upon it.
On the parapet, beneath the Greek word "Tymotheos," is the
inscription LEAL SOVVENIR, and the signature {59} "Factū
año. D(m-macron). 1432. 10. die Octobris. a Joh. de Eyck."
* * * * *
The portrait known as _The Man with the Pinks_ at the Berlin Museum,
is one of the most characteristic of Jan's portraits. It shows an
elderly man in a dark grey coat with fur cuffs and collar and a
broad-brimmed beaver hat. At the neck the brocade collar of a tunic
shows above the fur collar of the coat. The ornament of this brocade
seems to consist of the alternating letters Y and C, which occur in
one or two other portraits of the period, and may eventually afford
some clue as to the identity of the sitter. Round the neck is a
twisted wire chain, from which hangs a headless cross and the bell of
St. Anthony. Both hands are raised as high as the breast, the
fingers and thumb of the left holding three pinks. A handsome ring
with two stones is on the third finger. The face, wrinkled and
lined, is full of expression and life; the lips are parted, as though
about to give utterance to speech. Though the drawing is almost hard
in its exact delineation, it is far from rigid. It is altogether an
admirable example of Jan's lifelike realism, that loves to dwell on
every little ugly {60} detail--ill-shapen ears, puffy "tear-bags,"
warts and wrinkles--and yet infuses the whole thing with the beauty
of life and character.
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE VAN DER PAELE ALTAR-PIECE. BY JAN VAN EYCK.]
The _Virgin and Child, with St. Donatian, St. George, and the Donor,
George van der Paele_, Canon of the ancient Cathedral of St. Donatian
at Bruges, bears the date 1436, and is the most important of Jan van
Eyck's religious compositions. The scene is in the circular apse of
a Romanesque church, lighted by the soft rays that filter through the
leaded windows. The Virgin, draped in a red cloak, is seen in the
centre under a green canopy, holding the Christ-Child in her lap.
She has the same heavy, matronly features as the Virgin of _The
Annunciation_ in St. Petersburg and of the Chancellor Rolin picture
in Paris, and is no more idealised than the by no means attractive
infant Saviour, who is playing with a parrot. It is all very human
and wonderfully true, and for that very reason lacking in spiritual
significance. On the left stands St. Donatian in a gorgeous and
marvellously painted brocade robe, whilst on the right St. George, in
armour, presents the kneeling Canon van der Paele to the Virgin. The
patron saint, again, {61} is obviously painted from a model of low
rank in life--perhaps a peasant or a stableman; whilst the rugged
irregular features of the donor are set down with an honest and
painstaking straightforwardness that seems to delight in doing full
justice to all the sitter's ugliness. As objective portraiture pure
and simple, this head of van der Paele has probably never been
surpassed in the whole history of art. The supreme mastery of Jan
van Eyck manifests itself in the creation of a work of unforgettable
beauty and sumptuous splendour from such unpromising material. The
ugliness of the types chosen is forgotten when one's eyes revel in
the rich scheme of colour, the extraordinary beauty of the painting
of all the stuffs and accessories, the perfect modelling of the
features, and, above all, the (for the time) amazing knowledge of the
effect of light. With all the richness of pigment there is not a
single note in this whole large panel that is not absolutely "in
tone"; nothing is forced, nothing arbitrary, as though the
fifteenth-century master had already adopted the principle of the
nineteenth-century impressionists--"the first subject of a picture is
light."
The van der Paele altar-piece was in the sacristy of the church of
St. Donatian when {62} the old basilica was destroyed by the
revolutionary troops. It was taken to Paris, together with much
other artistic booty, but was returned to Bruges in 1814, and is now
in the Museum of the Academy of that city. The drapery round the
loins of the infant Saviour is a later addition which does not appear
in the excellent early copy at the Antwerp Museum, from which our
illustration is a reproduction. The original at Bruges bears the
inscription in small Gothic letters: _Hoc opus fecit fieri magister
Georgius de Pala, huius ecclesie canonicus, per Johannem de Eyck
pictorem. Et fundavit hic duas capellanias de gremio chori domini M.
ccc°. xxxiiij°., completing anno_ 1436°.
* * * * *