Saturday, March 13, 2010

Mirror mirror on the wall...





While cleaning out my parent's basement I spied a nifty fish-eye mirror. It was mounted in a strange brass wire surround over an antique white enamelled backer. Inspiration hit and my course of action was clear.




I have a great reverence for the Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck. (Also his brother Hubert)
Van Eyck was at one time credited with the invention of oil painting. This is not likely to be the case but it's immaterial, really, when faced with the jaw-dropping maturity of his technique. It's just this side of supernatural.


The Arnolfini wedding portrait of 1434 is one of the most analyzed works in art history, dense with symbols and perfect for art history term papers. When confronted with van Eyck's paintings I find myself acknowledging a concept I can only describe as "infinity". The best artistic parallel I've found is in the music of Bach. It's a holistic, universal, timeless quality that dwarfs the maker, the viewer, and the concepts of place or time. A perfect blend of science and art and the sacred.

1 comment:

  1. Beautiful Mirror.

    I'm about to start one myself for my sister.
    She ordered the fish eye mirror and I was searching for Anolfini wedding reference when I
    saw your version. Nice idea to swap the religious
    images with famous painting vinettes.

    bob

    ReplyDelete