Jan Van Eyck: Christian Painter: Hero or Heretic?

Jan Van Eyck was a Flemish painter during the Northern Renaissance period. The exact date and place of his birth are uncertain, but it is assumed that he was born around the year 1390 (1). He used oil and canvas to create extremely accurate and realistic paintings as opposed to the decorative and unrealistic Gothic style prominent before his time. But the haunting question remains: Was this mysterious painter a Christian hero or a heretic?

Van Eyck was employed by two different courts during his lifetime. Initially, he worked for John of Bavaria, Count of Hainaut-Holland (1422-24), and later for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1425-41). “Employment at court secured him an unusual high social position for a painter” (2). Also unusual was her habit of signing and dating his painting, which greatly simplifies identification of his work.

The Ghent Altarpiece:

The Ghent Altarpiece, the work of both Jan Van Eyck and his brother Hubert, was one of the most notable paintings of the time. Unlike normal triptychs, the Ghent Altarpiece has four separate panels and is painted on both sides. It has been called the “super-altar” because it contains twenty unique pieces of various dimensions.

The centerpiece of this exhibit is a lamb standing in heaven with blood pouring from its chest, symbolic of the atonement of Christ, the now living Lamb of God from the dead. This is taken from the Apocalypse where St. John saw “between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing as if slain…” (Rev. 5:6).

Jan Van Eyck used an oil medium for some of his paintings to create an “atmospheric perspective”: where, for example, the mountain range blends imperceptibly into the color of the sky. Although he was not the first to use oil as a medium, he did develop varnish by mixing oil into his paintings, instead of the usual egg medium in medieval paintings. The oil gave his paintings a jewel-like brilliance, translucency and intensity of color.

Arnolfini wedding:

Van Eyck respected nature as a mirror of divine truth. On the surface, his religious symbolism reveals a strong understanding of spiritual reality as it expresses itself in everyday life. The “Arnolfini marriage”, full of religious symbolism, shows the sacramental nature of the marriage alliance.

Here is the painter playing the role of wedding photographer hundreds of years before the advent of the camera. A related episode had him traveling to the court of Princess Isabella of Portugal with a marriage proposal from her patron, Philip the Good. Part of his task was to carry a portrait of the beautiful princess for Phillip, who had not yet met his future wife.

Incipient Rosicrucianism:

However, there are others who detect a more sinister side to Van Eyck, attributing his skill with oil paint to alchemy. There is evidence in the Ghent Altarpiece to suggest that he foreshadowed the Rosicrucianism that arose at the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England in the following century. The rose, which is a symbol of secrecy, suggests the communication of esoteric knowledge under a veil of Christian imagery.

For example, Saint Barbara, patron saint of alchemy, appears in the Ghent Altarpiece. Also, the word AGLA is hidden in a tile on one of the floors. According to Philip Coppens, the word was a magical protective formula, a kabbalistic acronym. In his essay “Van Eyck: The Heretic of Painting?” Coppens concludes, “…if ‘The Adoration of the Lamb’ was intended to be a magical talisman for a New Age, then he [Van Eyck] was in truth the man who sowed and began that era” (3).

Jan Van Eyck influenced art history by developing intense realism, landscapes, and portraiture in art, as well as introducing the use of oil paint. He died in Bruges, Belgium, in 1441. The Van Eyck gallery can be seen at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Van_Eyck

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(one) Biography of Jan Van Eyck at jan-van-eyck.org. Retrieved October 9, 2013.

(2) Jan van Eyck (ca. 1380/90-1441) at metmuseu.org. Retrieved October 9, 2013.

(3) Philip Coppens, “Van Eyck: The heretic of painting? at oil-painting-techniques.com. Retrieved February 24, 2014.