Classical Reference

Jan Van Eyck is one of my favorite classical artists. He is a Netherlands painter who is arguably the best from the 15th century. His paintings captivate me not only because of his amazing palette and light effects, but also because of his prevalent use of symbolism in his work. It's like he is painting secrets, beautiful secrets none the less. He takes these abstracted signs and symbols and puts them together in a work of art that is not only satisfying to the eye, but also to the mind.
This painting is titled Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife. It is my favorite classical painting because it is absolutely jam packed with symbolism. Everything in the painting from object to color to hand gesture has a meaning. The colors are just gorgeous. Anyway, this painting has stirred up controversy amongst art historians because it is unclear exactly how the symbols are meant to be interpreted. For instance, it appears she is pregnant which is a big deal because this scene is believed to be a wedding ceremony, but other art historians say this was just a fashionable style back in the day. I decided to throw in my own spin, with all due respect to Jan Van Eyck, and add a modern twist to the painting. It would not be uncommon in today's world for a woman to have a baby, and clearly it is not the husbands. Uh Oh!!! With the introduction of the little mixed baby, the mans expression turns from "I am the dominant worker bee" to something more along the lines of "HOLD THE PHONE!! That baby ain't mine!!!" Infidelity runs rampant in America, it breaks my heart but it happens all of the time. Also, the dog has been updated to look more modern as well, lol


Original



Modern Version