December 3, 2013
Jan van Eyck was originally credited to have invented oil based paint in the fifteenth century during the Flemish period, which is untrue. However, van Eyck did bring oil paint into the art scene of the time revolutionizing painting and advancing what artist could create on a canvas. With the spread of his knowledge of creating a certain type of oil to pigment artist in the Flemish scene developed the skill of creating a three dimensional space and realistic view of the world. Bringing the ideas of the Renaissance into the canvas.
In the beginning of van Eyck’s career as an artist he established himself first in the court of John of Bavaria and after his death with the famous Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy. His older Brother Hubert also worked for Philip the Good and was a “master” painter as well. The skill of his work is what really brought him his fame among the artist in the Flemish period. The work he produced for the Duke gave him a prestigious ranking in the kingdom. This allowed him to travel to further his knowledge and create commission on his boss’ behalf. Some of his travels included Aragon and Portugal where he made a portrait in helping with the arranged marriage between Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal. Other than painting, van Eyck had interests in various fields of science. Some included theology, astronomy, and anatomy. It is possible with his experiments within these fields that he came across the recipe used to make oil painting.
Before the invention of oil painting artist of the time had to work with tempera painting. It was used all through out the middle ages by a numerous amount of artists. It lineage can be traced all they way back to ancient Egypt. It was a perfect painting material because the substance used as a binder between the pigments was organic. The organic binder was egg yolk which was easily obtained. The giant problem with tempera paint would be that since it uses egg yolk it dries very quickly. With it’s quick drying substance it makes mixing paints and applying them a difficult process. If not enough is put into the mixture it would be hard to get the same exact color to blend in the painting. On the opposite end if there is to much, it is a waste of materials. When artists wanted to go back into the artwork over a previous color they had to layer them on top of on another creating a modeling effect. This was also used to give the space three dimensionality and to add shading to forms. To add paint, artists used brushstrokes called hatching to blend the colors. An example of tempera painting can be scene in the work of Fra Angelico with The Crucifixion (Fig. 1). In this painting there is a lack of depth and a very flat surface. The folds within the drapery are abrupt with one solid color next to another. The figures even seem stiff and have no individualistic features, which could be due to the keeping the religious figures separate from us. In this era paintings of religious figures and saints were only being “represented” and not put on the same scale as humans or mere mortal figures. Near the end artists were developing ideas and looking for ways to bring the religious scenes to a place where the audience could associate themselves with the religious figures on common ground.
The idea of humanism began to spread. This was a return to the ideals of the individual and held more importance on secular life . With this there was an even greater need to make a illustration that embodied the real world. Oil paint was the answer to artists plea. The oils used in paints varied from the extracts of plants and animals. Some examples of plant oils were linseed, poppy and walnut. After extracted it would be blended with various pigments. Popular ones included stone, glass, sands, and bones. This process differed from tempera in various ways. The main attribute of it was it’s slow drying process. With this artists could mix as much materials as they wished and could store them for later use without worry of it drying up. Going back in and laying was no longer a problem, also a new ways of layering were developed. When the pigments mixed in oil could take on a translucent layer to create glazes on the paintings. Then to build up the glazes artists used an impasto style, which mean to thicken up the paint in layers rising off of the canvas. The variety it created gave artwork a chance to capture a realistic setting, almost photographic like. Artists explore different types of styles from thick impastos to fine detailing creating textures and surfaces to their work. When first experimenting with oils, Olive oil was used. It had the slow drying effect that designers wanted, but it was to slow. The process of making a painting took too long and it was hard to go back into the painting.
Jan van Eyck found the perfect oil and applied it to his work mastering the type of painting. His binder of choice was siccative or linseed oil. This as described before was the perfect amount of time in the drying process that allowed artists to go back into their work, but not have the paint take too long to dry. A quote from the website Cyberlipid stated Jan van Eyck’s choice of material “It could be established that the Van Eyck secret was a mixture of piled glass, calcined bones and mineral pigments in linseed oil maintained a long time up to a viscous state at boiling temperature.” This secret of his gave him the advantage of taking his pristine position and the art world and expanding his skill and fame in Northern Europe. His mastery can be best example in one of his most famous works The Arnolfini Portrait (Fig. 2). The detail of the painting is astonishing and what artists had been struggling to capture before. His style of brushstroke used fine brushes to build up the layers creating different textures. Such as the hairs on the liner of fur on Arnolifini’s coat and that on the little dog in the foreground. The blending of colors created a volume to the masses that can be seen in the drapery of Giovanna Cenami giving her a realistic look. This painting fuses Northern European art with that of Italian given who the commissioner Arnolfini was originally from there and incorporated some aspects of his background into the painting layout. Also an aspect of the painting that Italian artists were going crazy to try to create was the reflective surfaces that van Eyck was so skilled at creating. From the light reflecting off the chandler to that of the mirror that has a mystery to it’s meaning. This was the highlight of what oil paint could do by blending the colors and letting artists take the real world and put it on the canvas.
Another one of Jan van Eyck’s works that displayed his talent was The Crucifxion;The Last Judgement (Fig. 4). This was one of van Eyck’s earlier works. It was not only done by van Eyck, but also with the help of an assistant. Throughout researching it is said that van Eyck worked alone and kept his ways secret. But this must have been untrue since it clearly is stated that him and an assistant worked on this piece, along with the work he did with his older brother Hubert. The painting it’s self has astonishing amounts of details and depth. In the background van Eyck went as far as creating fine details of the waves of the sea with small brushstrokes. Also juxtapose to the waves is a whole city scape behind the crucified men that even have little windows and creating the illusion of atmospheric perspective. A direct quote from the book Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History defines atmospheric perspective as, “An optical phenomena….exploit the principle that the father back the object is in space, the blurrier, less detailed, and bluer it appears…color saturation and value contrast diminish as the images recedes into the distance.” Also in the painting van Eyck is not only layering the glazes upon the page but also in his composition. While Christ holds the center of the page his crowd of angels and religious figures bring your eyes to the front of the canvas. The angel in the middle ground breaks up the two halves of the page. The distances of the ground where the people are waiting judgement pulls you eyes forward and drops them into the pit of hell. This gives the work a realistic sense of distance and how figures would look in the real world to the human eye. Further emphasis the ideals f the renaissance and put emphasis on peoples own salvation.
When researching there was much controversy in the beginning on who the “real” inventor of oil painting was. In an article written by Giorgio Vasari he argued viciously how Jan van Eyck could not be the true inventor of oil painting. Vasari did acknowledge though that he was a great contributor to the spread of the knowledge in the Flemish period . It is now publicly known that he was not the “true” inventor of oil. In Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective it is mentioned that Melchoir Borederlam was one of the first to apply oil to paint. Even though this as well could not be true since now it has been traced back as far as the eighth century that artist have used oils in paint. But Borederlam was one of the few in Northern Europe to start applying oil to paint. It can be seen in his work titled Retable de Champmol (Fig. 4.). When comparing this back to other artists who were using tempera paint it is easy to see how much more versatile Borderlam could be with his paintings. The tiles on the floor and the fabric on the holy figures have so much more presence than that of the flat tempera paint.
After van Eyck spread the knowledge of oil paint other Flemish artists started to pick up the style and apply it to their own works. One of the famous artists was Rogier van der Weyden. Another famous Flemish artists that was popular within the courts picked up on what Jan van Eyck was doing and began mastering it. A example from his work which isn’t one of his more popular ones is Francesco d’Este (Fig. 5.). According to research done by The Metropolitan museum of art this was a gift to Francesco who was very popular in the court of Philip the Good. This highlights the connection van der Weyden had with the court that van Eyck was also popular in. The detailing of the art shows that van der Weyden was starting to understand the flexibility of oil paint and could create a high realism. The hairs on Francesco’s head can all be seen strand by strand and go from the dark roots to the high lighted bangs where a back light seems to be hitting the sitter. The metal work in the painting is reflective and shinning airing the glazes used to create such light.
Another Flemish artists who was becoming more skilled at showing such reflectiveness was Hugo van der Goes. His Adoration of the Shepherds or also known as The Portinari Triptych is one of the highlights of later Flemish artwork (Fig. 6.). Northern European style is flourishing throughout the paintings. Along with the styles of paintings the van der Goes has included architecture from the Flemish period giving this religious scene a contemporary setting. The lights and shadows across the panels give a dramatic look to this very calm scene. It plays upon the drama of the event of the birth of the savior and the reactions that shepherds have. The characteristics of all the figures are individualized, all except for the angels who seem to have a unified appearance. The detail of the shepherds is astonishing of every part if heightened to a level that they are their own person. From their worn out clothes to the roughness of the hards the blending of colors is at a new level of skill . The masses of the robes upon the Virgin and other individuals give the illusion of volume. Also the clinging in some areas as in Joseph’s robes shows there is an acknowledgment of the anatomy underneath the clothing. On both wings of the panel the patron and family can be seen. The painting was commissioned by Portinari with the idea of the time of personal salvation. This was a big theme for people of this century. Through commissioning works of arts for churches and other religious endeavors one could save their soul from enteral damnation. This employed many artists at the time because of many of the courts people and friends had many commissions done along with the wealth to hire artists to paint such works of art. Hugo van der Goes was very popular with this type of work at the time. Within the scene he also implements the technique of a continuous narrative. The definition of a continuous narrative can be defined as a narrative that continually shows up within one painting in a sort of sequence of events .
An additional artists who pushed the limits of oil paint was Hans Memling. He was an artists who also received many commissions from wealthy people of the court as well as from merchants who were becoming more prominent at the time. In his work titled Virgin with Saints and Angels (Fig. 7.) he took the oil painting and pushed it to a new and intricate level. The amount of work that is in this painting alone is astonishing. The size of the work in the central panel is 5’ 7 3/4” x 5’ 7 3/4” and the wings each are 5’ 7 3/4” x 2’ 7 3/8”. The size of the painting accounts for how much has been done within those dimensions. The ornate fabric contrasts the soft beauty of the face of the Virgin making it pop off the page. This shows the variety oil paint can have when used by an artist who has mastered it. The fabrics on the saints and angels flanking on either side of the virgin give an illusion of not only layered fabric, but also depth of space. Their clothing and the tiles on the floor pull your eyes from the bottom of the page up to the virgin and cross out in a triangular form with the two male saints on either side giving it a complex composition. The architecture within this painting resembles that of International Gothic style. This can best be defined by a direct quote fom Gardner’s art through the ages: Global History that says:
This style appealed to the aristocracy because of it’s brilliant color, lavish costumes, intricate ornamentation….Also, a style of 20th-century architecture associated came ti influence the look of modern office buildings and skyscrapers.
The wings on either side create very different scenes with the story of the beheading of St. John the Baptists and on the other side a very imaginative scene where a writer seems to be reflecting. Both contain very realistic atmospheric perspective. The panel on the left with the beheading scene also seems like it contains a continuous landscape that would connect it to the central panel.
In conclusion Jan van Eyck did not invent oil based paint, but through his rediscovery of the technique he revolutionized art in Flanders which spread all across Europe and expanded what artist could create in their paintings. Many artists of the time picked up and continued to develop the limits of what oil painting could do and applied it to the ideals of the Renaissance.
Notes
- Kleiner, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History p. 538
- Jones, Jan van Eyck (ca. 1380/90-1441), http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/eyck/hd_eyck.htm
- Kleiner, Gardener’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History p.539
- Kreis, The History Guide, “Renaissance Humanism”
- Kreis, The History Guide, “Renaissance Humanism”
- Zucker, Drogin, “Tempera Paint”, http://smarthostory.khanacademy.org/tempera-paint.html.
- Gardner’s Art Though the Ages: A Global History
- History of oil paint, http://cyberlipid.org/perox/oxid0011.htm
- Jones, Jan van Eyck (ca. 1380/90-1441), http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/eyck/hd_eyck.htm
- Kleiner, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History p. 567
- Buren, “Eyck, van”
- Gotlieb, The Painter’s Secret: Invention and Rivalry form Vasari to Balzac
- Kleiner, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History p. 538
- Rogier van der Weyden, Franceso d’Este, 1460 http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/32.100.43
- Kren, Marx, “Goes, Hugo van der”
- Story and Space in Renaissance Art: The Rebirth of Continuous Narrative
- Kleiner, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History p. 413
- Kleiner, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective p. 410
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Bridal Shower 