Eyck, Hubert van, 1366-1426; Eyck, Jan van, 1390-1440
However representative the great masterpieces which it has been possible
to notice within the scope of this monograph, we are far yet from
having covered the art of the Van Eycks; and, strangely enough, the same
difficulty that is met in apportioning to each his share in the Great
Polyptych recurs when seeking to ascribe a number of other paintings
which are certainly the work of one or other of the brothers. The study
of these will always appeal to the intelligent student of their art, and
as a typical example of the group we present the altar-piece known as
"The Blessed Virgin and Child and Chancellor Rolin" (Plate VIII.), in
the Louvre, Paris: a remarkable work in respect of types, of
portraiture, and of landscape, every detail of which has been elaborated
to a degree scarcely conceivable. Many other of their paintings are to
be found scattered over Europe, along with much that is the work of
copyist, pupil, or imitator, too often with idle claims to authenticity;
for the influence of the Van Eycks was coextensive with the art world of
their day. Truthfulness, it has been observed, was the dominant note of
their art, and by their sedulous cultivation of Truth they dominated the
art of their age. With John this love of truth amounted well-nigh to a
passion; and the reproach of the carping critic to whom beauty of
feature alone makes for beauty of portraiture fails of its effect on the
true artist mind, to whom the faithful record of all trifling blemishes
of the face is but an added testimony and guarantee of the fidelity of
the portrait as a portrait of the inner as well as of the outer man.
Even a great painter may enhance his present popularity and widen his
clientèle by a flattering suppression of personal disfigurement, but
only to the injury of his fame and the hurt of his own self-respect.
John van Eyck scorned to grovel at the feet of Vanity, and with this
acknowledgment of the sense and honesty of his sitters he combined the
fulfilment of a duty to posterity, for with the true instinct of genius
he knew that he was painting not for his own brief day, but for all
time, and that, as the founder of a great school of portraiture and the
father of landscape art, it behoved him to set an example of the
cardinal principle which should direct them. Under any conditions John
van Eyck's genius must have asserted itself, but happily it was
fortunate in its setting, for the brilliancy of the great Burgundian
court and the sumptuous patronage of Duke Philip in the full blaze of
his power and glory were invaluable aids to the production and
dissemination of his art. Nor did success spoil his sterling nature:
amidst all the triumphs of his life his character remained singularly
free from the tarnish of empty pride, to the last the exquisite yield of
his art being given to the world in a charming spirit of apology so
aptly embodied in the simple motto of his choosing, "Als ich kan." And
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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