#JanVanEyck Catching up w old news. Having taught the traditional interpretation of this as a wedding portrait, I decided to look at new research. She is not Jeanne de Cename is he Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini; they did not wed until 1447.It gets weirder 🧵

Instead it is his cousin, Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini & maybe his wife Costanza Trenta. But she died in 1433 & the painting is dated 1434. Perhaps rather than a marriage portrait, it was a memorial portrait. He clings to her memory and hand. thecollector.com/arnolfini-port…

Dogs guarded women's tombs & it is closer to her. The burning candle in the chandelier is on his side=alive; the spent candle w dried wax is on hers=death. This might explain the lack of joy and the somber atmosphere of the painting, but it does not explain the oranges, bed,etc.

The objects displayed: oranges, the kicked-off sandals, the bed, whisk broom, image of St Margaret appear to subdivide the image into the male world (outside) and the female world (inside). If the wife was dead, why refer to the patron saint of childbirth?smarthistory.org/arnolfini-preg…

Sarah Blick Maybe the wife died in childbirth? This is wild speculation on my part, as a total amateur on art history, but it occurred to me as I was reading your thread - which is brilliant, by the way.

Holly Cullen Sarah Blick Agree w this theory or perhaps a nod to a lost child at some point in the past?