Jan van Eyck: The Play of Realism, Second Updated and Expanded Edition

Synopsis

The Surviving Work Of Flemish Painter Jan Van Eyck (c. 1395-1441) Consists Of A Series Of Painstakingly Detailed Oil Paintings Of Astonishing Verisimilitude. Most Explanations Of The Meanings Behind These Paintings Have Been Grounded In A Disguised Religious Symbolism That Critics Have Insisted Is Foremost. But In Jan Van Eyck, Craig Harbison Sets Aside These Explanations And Turns Instead To The Neglected Human Dimension He Finds Clearly Present In These Works. Harbison Investigates The Personal Histories Of The True Models And Participants Who Sat For Such Masterpieces As The Virgin And Chil. 1. Introduction -- 2. Van Eyck's Realism -- 3. The Artist's Place At The Burgundian Court -- 4. An Italian Courtier's Story -- 5. The Ecclesiastical Compact Of A Secular Canon -- 6. Private Devotion In A Schismatic Church -- 7. The Function Of Religious Belief For Van Eyck -- 8. The Doctrine Of Mary -- 9. The Sacrament Of The Altar -- 10. The Patrons Of Domestic Religious Imagery -- 11. The Confession Of Chancellor Nicolas Rolin -- 12. Patronage By Burgundian Court Functionaries -- 13. Literary Sources For Van Eycks Art -- 14. Physical Format And Verbal Inscription -- 15. A Litany To The Sacred Heart Of Jesus -- 16. Architectural Style And Sculptural Symbolism -- 17. Van Eyck's Modern Icon -- 18. The Image And Experience Of Pilgrimage -- 19. Pretence And Scepticism In The Fifteenth Century -- 20. A Different Perspective In The Ghent Altarpiece -- 21. The Interpretation Of Early Netherlandish Painting -- Afterword: Jan Van Eyck, Modern Painter -- Bibliographic Commentary -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgements -- List Of Illustrations -- Index. Craig Harbison. Previous Ed.: 1991. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 284-304) And Index.