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Video: What secrets are hidden by the symbolism of Jan van Eyck: "Madonna canon van der Palais"
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
In 15th century Flanders, the van Eyck brothers were famous for their skill, innovation, the desire for a change in art and for the break with the Gothic, which had already occurred in other European countries. All these qualities are perfectly combined in the monumental work of Jan van Eyck - "Madonna Canon Van der Palais". It hides mysterious symbolic elements, as well as a self-portrait of the master himself.
About the artist
The artist Jan van Eyck was born in 1390 in Maaseik, near Maastricht. He worked at the court of the Bavarian dukes in The Hague, then was in the service of the Duke of Burgundy Philip the Good. Along with the court service, van Eyck was also engaged in private orders (the famous Ghent altar and portraits of private customers). The Madonna of Chancellor Rolen was written for the Burgundian Chancellor Nicholas Rolen. The visual and thematic details of this painting are very similar to those of another work by van Eyck, Madonna Canon Van der Palais. After the Ghent Altarpiece, it is the second largest surviving work by van Eyck and the only one in a horizontal frame.
Madonna canon van der Palais
The Canon Madonna van der Palais is a large-scale work by van Eyck (141 x 176.5 cm), painted in oil on oak at the beginning of 1434–36. It depicts Canon Joris van der Pale himself, kneeling before the Madonna and Child. Next to the canon is his heavenly patron Saint George. Saint Donatian is depicted on the left. The appearance of this figure was also dictated by the specifics of the order, because the work was intended for a temple consecrated in his honor. Van Eyck's "Madonna of Canon Van der Palais" is characterized by an innovative use of illusionism and a complex spatial composition. The panel is inserted into an original oak frame, which contains several Latin inscriptions (including van Eyck's signature, coats of arms of the families of van der Pal's father and mother, the date of completion, the name of the customer, and texts relating to St. George and St. Donatian).
The upper border contains phrases from the Book of Wisdom comparing Mary to a "spotless mirror." The figures, the smallest details of clothing, the architecture of the room and windows are depicted with a high degree of realism. The panel is distinguished by the sophistication of clothing, including exquisite detailed images of fur, silk and brocade, as well as complex and detailed religious iconography.
Heroes
Van der paleThe panel was commissioned by Van der Palé to decorate the altar. Joris van der Pale is a papal clerk with a successful career as a priest. The work carried some memorial value: although van der Palais was a wealthy clergyman from Bruges, he was already elderly and seriously ill. In the painting, Van der Pale is dressed in the attire of a medieval canon, and he piously reads the book of hours. The glasses in the hands of van der Pal, on the one hand, symbolize education and chastity, and on the other, they refer to the fallacy of human feelings. The master of realism van Eyck even managed to show some of the customer's physical nuances: for example, cracked aging skin, enlarged temporal arteries, swollen fingers. As evidenced by church records of the 15th century, van der Pale suffered from temporal arteritis, and also suffered from severe pain in the hands and forearms.
St. GeorgeSaint George stands in luxuriously decorated armor and looks slightly relaxed and even casual. He lifts his helmet and his left hand to introduce van der Pale. Art historian Max Jacob Friedlander notes that Saint George seems indecisive and insecure in such a solemn and restrained atmosphere (unusual for him). His face creates a striking contrast to van der Pale's aging and wrinkled face.
Saint Donatian Saint Donatian (Archbishop of Reims), dressed in bright clothes, stands on the left. Van Eyck's skill in using oil paints can be seen in the ornament of the heroes' outfits: for example, in the image of the threads of the blue and gold embroidered miter of St. Donatian, in the weaving of an oriental carpet, as well as in the stubble and wrinkles on the aging face of van der Pal. His brocade is embroidered with images of Saints Peter and Paul. In his left hand he holds a jeweled processional cross, in his right his personal attribute - a wheel with five lighted candles, reminiscent of the incident when he almost drowned, being thrown into the Tiber, and Pope Dionysius saved him by throwing the wheel from his cart. which he could use as a lifeline.
Dema Maria with ChildThe Virgin Mary is seated on a throne with the Christ child on her knees in the interior of the church. The Virgin's throne is decorated with carvings of Adam and Eve, the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus and scenes from the Old Testament. The apse in which she sits adds the illusion of depth and three-dimensionality. The Madonna holds the Child in her right hand, and the flower in her left. She is dressed in a voluminous red dress, and her figure is surrounded by oriental patterns of an overhanging tapestry. Interesting detail: a parrot in Madonna's lap. The parrot was sometimes used as the emblem of the Virgin Mary, but the parrot and the flower together symbolize the Garden of Eden, accented by the carved figures of Adam Eve. The palette in a flower (white, red, blue) represents purity, love and humility, its petals are an attribute of the cross and the sacrifice of Christ. The figure of Our Lady is very rich in iconography: for example, the carvings on the left refer to the death of Christ, and the elements on the right refer to His Resurrection. The white cloth of the Child is draped over the red mantle of Mary - an attribute of the celebration of the Eucharist and a reference to the death and resurrection of Christ. The Mother of God and the Child can also be seen in the reflection of George's helmet. Van Eyck demonstrates his skill by incorporating his self-portrait into the reflection on the knight's shield. The artist depicts himself standing at an easel wearing a red turban.
Location of work
The painting remained within the walls of its native church until the end of the French Revolution, and was one of the most famous artistic attractions in Bruges. By the way, this panel was highly praised in his diary in 1521 by Albrecht Durer. During the plundering of the estates of aristocrats during the occupation of the southern Netherlands by the French revolutionary army, the painting was transported to the Louvre in 1794 (along with many other Dutch and Flemish works). In 1816, it was returned to Bruges, where it remains to this day (in the local Gruninge Museum). Van Eyck's panel is called a "masterpiece of masterpieces", it is considered one of the most fully realized and ambitious works of the artist.
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