,frontispiece3 ,,jan ,,arnolfini ,,and  
,,jeanne ,,de ,,chenany4  ,,by ,,jan    
,,van ,,eyck4          ,bell's          
,miniature ,series of ,painters         
,,the ,,brothers    ,,van ,,eyck        
,,by      ,p4 ,g4 ,,konody              
,,london    ,,george ,,bell  ,,sons     
#aijg          ,,table ,,of ,,contents  
,,the ,,times ,,of ,,the ,,brothers     
,,van ,,eyck    ,,hubert ,,van ,,eyck   
,,jan ,,van ,,eyck    ,,the ,,invention 
,,of ,,oil-,,painting    ,,the ,,art    
,,of ,,the ,,van ,,eycks                
,,collaboration ,,of ,,the ,,brothers   
,,our ,,illustrations    ,,list ,,of    
,,works1 ,,catalogued ,,according ,,to  
,,locality          ,,list ,,of         
,,illustrations      ,,jan ,,arnolfini  
,,and ,,jeanne ,,de ,,chenany           
7,national ,gallery7 - - - ,frontispiece
    ,by ,jan van ,eyck4    ,,the        
,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,lamb           
7,cathedral of ,st4 ,bavo1 ,ghent7      
,by ,hubert and ,jan van ,eyck4    ,,the
 ,,enthronement ,,of ,,thomas  ,,becket 

7,chatsworth7    ,by ,jan van ,eyck4    
,,the ,,man ,,with ,,the ,,pinks        
7,berlin ,museum7    ,by ,jan van ,eyck4
    ,,st4 ,,barbara 7,antwerp ,museum7  
,by ,jan van ,eyck4    ,,the ,,just     
,,judges1 ,,and ,,christ',s ,,warriors  
7,berlin ,museum7    ,by ,hubert and    
,jan van ,eyck4    ,,portrait ,,of      
,,timothy 7,national ,gallery7    ,by   
,jan van ,eyck4    ,,the ,,van ,,der    
,,paele ,,altar-,,piece 7,bruges        
,museum7    ,by ,jan van ,eyck4         
#a    ,,the ,,times ,,of ,,the          
,,brothers ,,van ,,eyck    ,the unusual 
activity which during the latter half of
 the fourteenth  and the first half of  
the fifteenth centuries throbbed        
throughout the  whole of the            
,netherlands forms one of the most      
interesting and  surprising studies of  
national progress that history has      
furnished4    ,geographically and       
politically1 in her arts and in her     
industries1  the country was affected by
 changes both radical and lasting4      

,some  years before the period which    
embraces the life of the subjects of    
this biographical sketch1 the ,german   
,ocean had invaded the northern         
territory of the ,netherlands1 and had  
disorganised a ,parliament and  divided 
a people4  ,at the beginning of the     
thirteenth century over  the whole of   
that low-lying and marshy tract between 
,kampen on the  east and ,amsterdam to  
westward1 and southward to within sight 
of  ,nieukerk1 the ,north ,sea swept in 
upon the #b inland lake of ,flevo1      
swallowing thousands of hamlets1        
villages1 and towns suddenly and        
completely4  ,until this time there had 
been but one ,friesland1  including     
,holland1 divided only by the ,vlie1 a  
small stream hardly to  be counted a    
river4  ,now ,east ,friesland and ,west 
,friesland were  divided by this vast   
stretch of water1 the stormy and        
dangerous  ,zuyderzee1 and it became    
impossible for ,holland to send her     
representatives to the general          

assemblies at ,aurich4  ,west ,friesland
  was absorbed by ,holland1 and ,east   
,friesland became a self-governing      
,state1 and remained such until the     
power of ,charles ,v4 was  established4 
,thus politically as well as            
geographically was the  country         
disrupted by the forces of ,nature4     
,to trace the rise of the ,netherlands  
as a ,european ,power from a more       
remote period than the beginning of the 
fourteenth century would be  beyond the 
range of this sketch2 but for the       
purpose of showing the  general advance 
of the country's interests a brief      
summary of the  events culminating in   
the wellnigh despotic power of the      
,house of  ,burgundy may refresh the    
reader's mind1 as they affect the       
constitution of the nation1 and may     
serve to point cause #c and  effect in  
the increasing prosperity of the country
 and in the  resulting advance of art2  
for just as the political influence of  
the  ,burgundian ,princes spread from   

their hereditary provinces first over   
,flanders and ,brabant--over that part  
of the ,netherlands which is now  known 
as ,belgium--and finally over the ,dutch
 provinces1 so the  current of art swept
 from ,burgundy to ,flanders and thence 
to ,holland4    ,at the beginning of the
 fourteenth century ,holland was ruled  
by the  ,house of ,avennes1 ,counts of  
,hainault4  ,holland having previous to 
the  accession of the ,avennes annexed  
,zeeland1 the three provinces may       
almost be regarded as the nucleus of the
 ,dutch power4  ,william ,,iv41  last of
 the ,hainault line1 died childless in  
#acee4  ,his death was the  signal for  
the outbreak of a long and spasmodic    
series of civil  disturbances between   
the nobles and the cities and           
municipalities4  ,these parties1 known  
by the titles of the ,hooks and the     
,kabblejaus  7codfish71 continued their 
intermittent strife throughout the      
succeeding #aej years4  ,in the meantime
 ,william ,,iv4 was succeeded by        

,william of ,bavaria4  ,then followed   
his brother ,albert1 who was in  turn   
succeeded by his son ,william ,,vi4  ,at
 the death of the latter #d  the reins  
of government were left in the uncertain
 hands of his young  daughter1          
,jacqueline1 a girl of seventeen4       
,jacqueline1 it appears1  led anything  
but a happy life4  ,her cousin1 ,philip 
the ,good1 ,duke of  ,burgundy1 for     
thirteen years plundered and robbed her1
 and at her  death in #adcg he had      
already dispossessed her of her lands   
and  reduced her from the position of   
,sovereign to that of ,lady ,forester   
in her own provinces1 whilst for himself
 he had laid the foundation  of that    
,greater ,netherlands which by conquest 
and annexation he  proceeded to extend4 
,having acquired the principal          
,netherlands and inherited the two      
,burgundies and the counties of         
,flanders and ,artois1 he had purchased 
the county of ,namur1 usurped the duchy 
of ,brabant1 and annexed the  barony of 

,mechlin4  ,a few years later he        
acquired also the duchy of  ,luxembourg4
    ,philip was now the ruler of what   
may be termed a kingdom of several      
peoples1 who1 though in a measure       
distinct1 were of similar  temperament  
and character1 and who may be counted   
now as one4  ,never  has conqueror been 
in a happier position when faced with   
the problem  of welding together his    
conquests4  #e ,for ,philip ruled those 
whose  interests were similar1 and whose
 characteristics were almost            
identical--a people born of the sea1    
strong and fearless1 who had  lived by  
strife with their fellows and by strife 
with ,nature2 a  people born to toil and
 to hardship1 whose battle for life had 
been  with ,nature herself--a race which
 for centuries had fought with swamp    
and water year in1 year out1 conquering 
a mile of morass or patch of  barren    
furze1 striving for the soil to live    
upon1 working not for  gold1 but for    
life4  ,this nation had now become a    

power of natural  strength and of       
dominating physique1 virile and live and
 expansive1  whose sons1 with brooms at 
their mastheads1 should later sweep the 
seas from whose destructive embrace she 
had succeeded in wresting  herself4     
,under the rule of the ,burgundian the  
prosperity of the ,netherlands  rapidly 
increased4  ,in ,holland and in         
,flanders1 in ,brabant and in the  other
 leading provinces1 industry and wealth1
 agriculture1 commerce1  and            
manufactures1 were ever augmenting4     
,while ,philip1 in the zenith  of his   
power1 flushed with the passion and     
success of territorial  acquisition1    
busied himself with the glorification of
 his sovereignty  by founding at        
,bruges1 amid a #f scene of             
indescribable splendour1  the ,order of 
the ,golden ,fleece1 to the honour of   
,god1 of the ,blessed  ,virgin1 and of  
the holy ,andrew1 a principle more      
potent than even  territorial power was 
evolving4  ,for in ,haarlem an          

undistinguished  sexton wrestled with   
the intricacies of the printing-press4  
,lorenz  ,coster was printing his book  
of the ,dutch language4  ,the question  
as  to the time and place of the        
invention of printing will probably     
never be settled to the satisfaction of 
,holland and ,germany2 but the  men of  
,haarlem still claim upon very sound and
 substantial evidence  that between     
#adbc and #addj their citizen was the   
first to employ  movable type1 which is 
generally considered the invention of   
printing  proper1 as distinguished from 
the more ancient block-printing4        
,whatever objection may be legitimately 
raised to the application of  the title 
,the ,good to a ruler of ,philip's      
character1 this  ,burgundian had many of
 the qualities that go to the making of 
a  successful monarch4  ,his military   
talents were considerable2 his          
political methods1 though despotic1 were
 practicable4  ,though he  taxed the    
wealth of his country1 he protected and 

encouraged the  commerce and #g         
manufactures of ,holland and ,flanders1 
their arts and  crafts1 science and     
literature4  ,he founded at ,bruges the 
famous  ,burgundian ,library4  ,he      
remodelled1 and to some extent endowed1 
the  ,university of ,louvain4  ,his     
munificence and princely generosity     
attracted to his ,court at ,bruges men  
of letters like ,oliver de la  ,marche  
and ,philippe de ,commines1 and famous  
painters like ,jan van  ,eyck1 and      
perhaps1 though we lack documentary     
evidence1 his elder  brother ,hubert1   
who gave1 perhaps1 more to the art of   
painting than  even did ,coster to the  
art of printing1 or ,philip himself to  
the  sciences of statesmanship and war4 
,the most salient points in the life and
 work of these two brothers1  who close 
the period of stiff ,gothic medievalism 
and stand on the  threshold of modern   
art1 and whose improvements in the      
technical  methods of their art opened  
up to their successors unthought-of     

possibilities1 are shrouded in deep     
mystery1 and the most recent  research  
to which a number of thoroughly         
competent scientific experts  have      
devoted themselves1 whilst producing    
many ingenious theories and  deductions1
 has1 in a certain sense1 added to the  
confusion by  throwing doubt upon the   
authenticity of documents #h and        
inscriptions which had formerly passed  
undisputed1 and formed the  basis of the
 unstable edifice that had been erected 
around the vague  fame of the brothers  
,van ,eyck4  ,this uncertainty begins   
with the  parentage and the place and   
date of birth of the two masters1 and   
extends to the two supreme achievements 
to which they owe their  fame--the      
reputed invention of oil-painting1 which
 was variously  ascribed to ,hubert and 
,jan1 then denied to both of them1 and1 
finally1 given back to ,hubert in the   
form of an improvement on the  methods  
of oil-painting practised during the    
period2 and the  much-quoted inscription

 on the famous ,ghent altar-piece1 ,the 
,adoration of the ,lamb1 which has been1
 and must remain1 the  starting-point   
for all research in this matter1 even   
though the late  ,henri ,bouchot1       
,keeper of the ,print ,cabinet of the   
,bibliothque  ,nationale1 suggests that 
this inscription may have been added    
when  the picture was restored in the   
middle of the sixteenth century4  ,at   
every turn we are faced by similar      
doubts and contradictions1  especially  
in the case of ,hubert1 about whose life
 and doings we have  so little          
documentary evidence that we have to    
fall back entirely  upon conjecture and 
deduction4    ,illustration3 ,,the      
,,adoration ,,of ,,the ,,lamb4  ,,by    
,,hubert ,,and ,,jan ,,van  ,,eyck4     
#i    ,,hubert ,,van ,,eyck    ,if ,joes
 van ,eyck and ,margaret van den        
,huntfanghe1 who are entered in  the    
register of the ,ghent ,guild of        
,painters for #acia1 are the parents  of
 the two masters who have made the name 

of ,van ,eyck immortal1 we  should have 
proof of their descent from artistic    
stock1 which may be  taken for granted  
in view of the fact that not only       
,hubert and ,jan1  but also a third     
brother1 ,lambert1 and a sister1        
,margaret1 devoted  themselves to the   
art of painting1 though ,lambert--if he 
really be  responsible for the pictures 
which stand to his credit--was a man of 
but mediocre talent2 whilst we have no  
evidence of the activity of  ,margaret1 
who was most probably a miniaturist or  
illuminator4    ,it is believed that    
,hubert 7or ,huybrecht7 van ,eyck was   
born at  ,maaseyck1 or perhaps at the   
village of ,eyck near that town1 between
  #acff and #acgj1 and that he received 
his artistic training either at         
,cologne or at ,maastricht2 but the     
first definite mention we have of  him  
#aj is in ,ghent1 where he eventually   
settled1 and where1 in  #adbd1 the      
archives record that he was paid certain
 sums for drawings4  ,though ,mr4 ,weale

 and other authorities hold the view    
that1 before  settling in ,ghent1       
,hubert must have travelled to the      
,south of ,europe1  there is absolutely 
no evidence to this effect4  ,the       
paintings of the  two brothers certainly
 contain details which reveal intimate  
acquaintance with ,southern vegetation  
and mountain formation2 but1 as  will be
 seen later1 ,mr4 ,alfred ,marks has    
fairly well established the  fact that  
the younger brother1 ,jan1 must be held 
responsible for such  paintings or      
portions of paintings as prove the      
knowledge of ,nature  in the ,south of  
,europe4    ,the name of ,hubert van    
,eyck occurs in two other documents1    
quoted by  ,edmond de ,busscher in his  
,recherches sur les ,peintres ,gantois1 
but  the authenticity of both these     
entries has lately been questioned4     
,the first of them1 which is proved to  
be a forgery1 records the  admission of 
,hubert and of his sister1 ,margaret1   
into the  ,confraternity of ,our ,lady  

of the ,rays at ,ghent in #adai2 the    
other the  affiliation of ,hubert and   
,jan1 in #adba1 to the ,corporation of  
,painters and ,sculptors of ,ghent4  #aa
 ,according to the wording of  the      
latter entry1 it may be gathered that   
the election of the two  masters was so 
enthusiastic and unanimous that the     
,corporation  dispensed with the        
conditions and formalities usual on the 
admission  of free masters to the guild4
  ,this unusual affiliation1 of which   
the  ,livre du ,mtier ,gantois does not 
reveal another example1 is there  quoted
 as a homage rendered to the memory of  
,michelle de ,france1  ,countess of     
,flanders1 and first wife of ,philip the
 ,good1 who appears  to have held the   
two brothers in special favour4  ,the   
,corporation1 in  thus granting to them 
the professional franchise of ,ghent1 at
 the  same time expressed their esteem  
for their talent1 and the pious         
remembrance in which they held the      
memory of their ,queen ,consort4    ,of 

,hubert's early work we have absolutely 
no record1 and no picture  is known     
which bears his signature4  ,indeed1 the
 only paintings which  can with absolute
 certainty be assigned to him are the   
great ,ghent  altar-piece1 painted for  
,jodoc ,vydt1 on which he was engaged at
 the  time of his death1 and which was  
finished six years later by his  brother
 ,jan2 and the shutter of a triptych at 
the ,royal ,gallery at  #ab ,copenhagen1
 which represents ,robert ,poortier1 of 
,ghent1  protected by ,st4 ,anthony1    
with the ,angel ,gabriel on the reverse4
  ,robert ,poortier's will1 made in     
#adbf1 a few months before ,hubert's    
death1 mentions this triptych as being  
in the master's workshop4  ,on  the     
internal evidence of these two authentic
 works attempts have been  made to trace
 ,hubert's hand in several other        
pictures1 though their  number is so far
 restricted to only seven4  ,it has been
 suggested  that ,hubert may in the     
earlier years of his career have devoted

  himself to miniature painting2 and the
 wonderful ,turin miniatures  published 
by ,m4 ,paul ,durrieu in the ,gazette   
des ,beaux-,arts 7,january  and         
,february1 #aijc71 which date from the  
same period1 show such  marked kinship  
with ,hubert's conception and style that
 they may well  be the work of his own  
hand4  ,the scarcity of his paintings   
would  thus be accounted for if1        
anterior to the experiments which led to
  the invention of the new method of    
oil-painting about #adaj1 ,hubert  had  
exercised his rare gifts in a different 
field4    ,from the wording of his      
epitaph1 which has been handed down to  
us1 it  is made clear that ,hubert died 
on ,september #ah1 #adbf4  ,as          
translated  by ,sir ,charles ,eastlake1 
in his ,materials #ac for a ,history of 
,oil-,painting1 this epitaph runs as    
follows3 ,take warning from me1  ye who 
walk over me4  ,i was as you are1 but am
 now buried dead  beneath you4  ,thus it
 appears that neither art nor medicine  

availed  me4  ,art1 honour1 wisdom1     
power1 affluence1 are not spared when   
death  comes4  ,i was called ,hubert van
 ,eyck2 ,i am now food for worms4       
,formerly known and highly honoured in  
painting1 this was all shortly  after   
turned to nothing4  ,it was in the year 
of the ,lord one thousand  four hundred 
and twenty-six1 on the eighteenth day of
 ,september1 that  ,i rendered up my    
soul to ,god1 in sufferings4  ,pray ,god
 for me1 ye who  love art1 that ,i may  
attain to ,his sight4  ,flee sin1 turn  
to the  best1 for you must follow me at 
last4  ,hubert was buried in the  crypt 
of the ,cathedral of ,st4 ,bavo at      
,ghent4  ,when1 owing to some           
structural alterations to the church1   
this crypt was destroyed1 the  tombs1   
including ,hubert's1 were removed and   
the bones dispersed4  ,only ,hubert's   
right arm was placed in an iron case and
 exhibited as a  relic4          #ad    
,,jan ,,van ,,eyck    ,the date of ,jan 
van ,eyck's birth is as uncertain as    

that of his  brother's4  ,tradition has 
it that the two brothers are portrayed  
on  the panel of the great ,ghent       
altar-piece1 which represents ,the ,just
  ,judges4  ,these portraits suggest a  
difference of about twenty years        
between the two1 so that the birth of   
,jan would have to be placed  somewhere 
between #achf and #acij4  ,hubert being 
thus about twenty  years his senior1 it 
is natural to suppose that ,jan received
 from him  his early education in       
matters of art4  ,guicciardini1 van     
,mander1 and  other early writers1      
affirm that the two brothers worked in  
collaboration1 and there is no reason to
 doubt that ,jan in his early  years    
assisted his brother in many or most of 
his paintings--perhaps  even in the     
,ghent altar-piece1 which he finished   
after the elder  brother's death4  ,it  
is certainly a curious fact that1 with a
 single  exception--the completely      
over-painted ,enthronement of ,st4      
,thomas of  ,canterbury at #ae          

,chatsworth--all the signed pictures by 
,jan bear  dates posterior to the death 
of ,hubert4  ,and it is equally         
significant that the first of this      
series of ten signed pictures is  dated 
#adcb1 the year of the completion of the
 ,ghent altar-piece1  which was the last
 work in which both brothers had a      
share4    ,illustration3 ,,the          
,,enthronement ,,of ,,thomas  ,,becket1 
,,by ,,jan ,,van ,,eyck4    ,the chief  
events in the life of ,jan van ,eyck can
 be gathered fairly  accurately from    
contemporary records and documents4  ,in
 #adbb ,jan  entered the service of     
,john of ,bavaria1 at that time ,duke of
  ,luxembourg1 whose household accounts 
show the payment of a weekly  wage to   
the artist1 from ,october #be1 #adbb1   
till ,september1 #adbd1 for  the        
decoration of the palace at the ,hague4 
,m4 ,bouchot mentioned an  earlier      
record of ,jan's doings1 when he        
believed he discovered him at  ,cambrai 
decorating a ,paschal candle4  ,but the 

eminent ,french critic  probably        
confused ,jan van ,eyck with one ,jan de
 ,yeke1 whose name  occurs in the       
accounts of the ,cathedral of ,cambrai  
as that of a man  employed in #adbb and 
many following years in painting        
crosses1  clocks1 and candles on the    
outer wall of the cathedral to deter the
  passers-by from committing nuisances6 
,in the spring of #adbe ,jan van ,eyck  
was #af appointed varlet de  chambre to 
,philip the ,good1 and though this      
princely patron availed  himself of the 
master's services as a painter1 it would
 appear from a  letter signed by        
,philip1 and bearing the date ,march    
#ab1 #adcd1 that  the appointment of    
,jan to the position of ,court painter  
to the  ,burgundian ,prince only took   
place in that year 7#adcd74  ,still1 as 
varlet de chambre ,jan van ,eyck must   
have enjoyed a position of  considerable
 trust and emolument at the hands of his
 august master1  for on more than one   
occasion we find him entrusted with     

important  missions1 some of which took 
him to the ,portuguese ,court4  ,the    
first  of these excursions took place   
when he had resided for three months  at
 ,bruges4  ,on his return he went at    
,philip's order to live at ,lille1      
where he remained until #adbh4  ,his    
missions were generally of a  secret    
nature1 but on one of these occasions1  
in the year #adbh1 we  find ,jan again  
absent in ,portugal1 returning to the   
,court of ,philip  in the suite of      
,isabella of ,portugal1 who was destined
 to become the  royal consort4          
,gachard1 in the ,collection de         
,documents ,indits  concevnant          
l',histoire de ,belgique1 gives a       
detailed account of the  artist's       
movements from his departure from cluse 
on ,october #ai1  #adbh1 to his #ag     
return in ,january1 #adcj4  ,according  
to these dates1  which are gathered from
 contemporary documents1 the ambassadors
 with  the ,infanta set out from ,lisbon
 on ,october #h1 #adbi4  ,the apparent  

discrepancy between these dates and that
 of ,january #aj1 #adbi1 which1  at the 
,golden ,fleece ,exhibition at ,bruges  
in #aijg1 was given as the  date of the 
foundation of this ,order1 and          
consequently of the  nuptials of ,philip
 and ,isabella and of ,jan's return to  
,bruges1 is  easily accounted for if we 
remember that the beginning of the year 
was then reckoned from ,march #a1 so    
that ,january1 #adcj1 of our own        
reckoning would tally with ,january1    
#adbi1 of the contemporary  calendar4   
,jan's first duty on arrival at the     
,portuguese ,court was to paint the     
portrait of the ,princess4  ,it appears 
that he was at work upon this  picture  
for a month4  ,several portraits of     
,isabella are still extant  painted in  
the manner of the van ,eycks1 and       
pointing to the same  origin1 but none  
has so far been discovered to possess   
qualities or  details which would       
justify its identification as ,jan's    
original  panel4  ,evidently ,jan's     

portrait was pleasing to the eye of the 
,lowland monarch1 for upon ,philip      
expressing his satisfaction with the    
personal appearance #ah of ,isabella1   
the ambassadors and the bride           
immediately embarked on the homeward    
journey4  ,soon after his               
return--namely1 in #adca--;,jan bought a
 house in ,bruges1 where he  married and
 continued to work1 after the completion
 of the ,ghent  altar-piece in the      
following year1 until his death1 which  
took place  about the end of ,june1     
#adda4  ,he was buried in the churchyard
 of ,st4  ,donatian at ,bruges1 but his 
body was subsequently removed to a vault
  near the font of that church4    ,mr4 
,weale1 while arranging the archives of 
,st4 ,donatian at ,bruges1  discovered  
in the account of the fabric of the     
church for the year  beginning ,june    
#be1 #addj1 and ending ,june #bd1 #adda1
 entries of sums  received for the grave
 of ,jan van ,eyck and for the ringing  
of the  funeral bell1 and in the        

obituary of the church his anniversary  
set  down as celebrated on ,july #i4    
,in an article in the ,burlington       
,magazine 7#aijd7 ,mr4 ,weale makes the 
following comment3 ,hence it  appears   
certain that he died on ,july #i1 #addj4
  ,this date1 now  generally accepted1  
is1 however1 incorrect4  ,two entries in
 the  account of ,walter ,poulain1      
,receiver-,general of ,flanders for the 
year  ending ,december #ca1 #adda1 prove
 that ,john's death #ai took place in   
#adda1 but leave the exact day          
uncertain4  ,three entries show that    
,jan died about the end of ,june1 and   
that on ,july #bb a grant of #cfj       
livres--the equivalent of her husband's 
salary for half a year--was  made to    
,jan's widow by the ,duke ,philip in    
recognition of the services  rendered by
 her deceased husband4  ,it also shows  
that ,jan's wife was  named ,margaret1  
and that he left at least two           
children--one1 the  ,duke's godchild1   
,philip or ,philippina1 born in ,june1  

#adcd2 the other1  ,lyennie1 who became 
a nun at ,maaseyck in #addi1 which lends
 colour to  the theory that ,maaseyck   
was her father's birthplace4    ,his    
epitaph1 as translated by ,sir ,charles 
,eastlake1 runs3 ,here lies  ,joannes1  
who was celebrated for his surpassing   
skill1 and whose  felicity in painting  
excited wonder4  ,he painted breathing  
forms1 and  the earth's surface1 covered
 with flowery vegetation1 completing    
each  work to the life4  ,hence ,phidias
 and ,apelles must give place to him1   
and ,polycletus be considered his       
inferior in art4  ,call1 therefore1  the
 ,fates most cruel1 who have snatched   
from us such a man4  ,yet  cease to     
weep1 for destiny is immutable2 pray    
only now to ,god that he  may live in   
heaven4          #bj    ,,the           
,,invention ,,of ,,oil-,,painting       
,tradition has for centuries connected  
the name of ,van ,eyck with the         
invention of oil-painting1 and has fixed
 upon the year #adaj as the  date of    

this invention4  ,this1 at least1 is the
 year given by such  early writers as   
,guicciardini1 ,vasari1 ,opmeer1 and    
,karel van ,mander4  ,vasari1 indeed1   
gives a most detailed and circumstantial
 account of  this epoch-making event1   
which1 according to the ,aretine        
biographer1  was brought about by the   
single-handed efforts of ,jan4  ,and it 
is  easy to understand that the fame of 
the elder brother had in the  sixteenth 
century become obscured and merged in   
that of the  brilliantly successful     
,jan1 the varlet de chambre and official
  ,court painter4  ,this ,giovanni of   
,bruggia1 ,vasari tells us1 after       
having given extreme labour to the      
completion of a certain picture1  and   
with great diligence brought it to a    
successful issue1 he gave it  the       
varnish and set it to dry in the sun1 as
 is the custom4  ,but  whether because  
#ba the heat was too violent1 or that   
the wood was  badly joined or           
insufficiently seasoned1 the picture    

gave way at the  joinings1 opening in a 
very deplorable manner4  ,thereupon     
,giovanni1  perceiving the mischief done
 to his work by the heat of the sun1    
determined to proceed in such a manner  
that the same thing should  never again 
injure his work in like manner4  ,and as
 he was no less  embarrassed by his     
varnishes than by the process of        
tempera-painting1  he turned his        
thoughts to the discovery of some sort  
of varnish that  would dry in the       
shadow1 to the end that he need not     
expose his  pictures to the sun4        
,accordingly1 after having made many    
experiments  on substances1 pure and    
mixed1 he finally discovered that       
linseed oil  and oil of nuts dried more 
readily than any others of all that he  
had  tried4  ,having boiled these oils1 
therefore1 with other mixtures1 he  thus
 obtained the varnish which he--or1     
rather1 all the painters of  the        
world--had so long desired4  ,he made   
experiments with many other  substances1

 but finally decided that mixing the    
colours with these  oils gave a degree  
of firmness to the work which not only  
secured it  against all injury from     
water when once dried1 but also imparted
 so  #bb much life to the colours that  
they exhibited a sufficient lustre  in  
themselves without the aid of varnish2  
and what appeared to him  more          
extraordinary than all besides was that 
the colours thus treated  were much more
 easily united and blent than when in   
tempera4    ,vasari then proceeds to    
tell us of ,jan's great success1 of the 
blameless envy of all other artists in  
,flanders and abroad1 from  whom he     
would jealously guard his secret1 until1
 in his old age1 he  imparted it to his 
disciple ,ruggieri da ,bruggia1 a name  
which  surely can hide no other         
personality than ,rogier van der        
,weyden's4  ,of ,hubert never a mention1
 save a short reference in the last     
volume1  in the chapter on ,divers      
,flemish ,artists4  ,as in most of      

,vasari's  anecdotes1 there is probably 
a foundation of truth to the elaborate  
network of fiction4  ,the incident      
explained by him at great length  may   
have occurred1 but its hero can only    
have been ,hubert1 and not  ,jan1 who   
was then a mere youth working in his    
brother's bottega1  and may have        
assisted ,hubert in his experiments4    
,though it has since  been doubted that 
,hubert or ,jan van ,eyck actually      
invented  oil-painting1 no evidence has 
yet been discovered to prove they were  
not the first to employ oil #bc as a    
medium in putting colour on the         
prepared panel4  ,it is true that oil as
 a protective varnish was  frequently   
used during the fourteenth century1 and 
it is probable  that some kind of       
oil-colour was employed in the colouring
 of  statuary and in the painting of    
banners at an early period4  ,for this  
reason the statement that ,hubert and   
,jan van ,eyck discovered  painting in  
oils has been disputed1 and generally   

accepted as  inaccurate1 but the        
question is one rather of terminology   
than of the  technical point4    ,as the
 term oil-painting is generally accepted
 to-day1 it is fairer  to credit these  
brothers with the invention1 than to    
speak of their  achievement as an       
improvement in oil-painting1 for        
hitherto the  medium in common use had  
been a preparation of gum and white of  
eggs4  ,and as there is neither definite
 proof nor any good evidence that oil   
had ever been used as a medium to mix   
the colours for  panel-painting before  
,hubert and ,jan made their experiments1
 we  surely have an easy distinction to 
draw4  ,the brothers ,van ,eyck were    
the first successfully to mix the oil   
with the colours for painting1  and this
 process is what we now understand as   
painting in oils4  ,the use of #bd oils 
as a protective or varnish does not     
enter into  the painting1 since such had
 only been used on the completion of the
  work4    ,for the rest1 the brothers  

either acted more generously than       
,vasari  would have it1 or they did not 
altogether succeed in guarding their    
precious secret1 for their method       
appears to have been fairly  generally  
practised at ,ghent about #adbj4  ,we   
find1 for instance1 that  in #adai the  
free painters1 ,willem van ,appoele and 
,johannes  ,maertens1 received a        
commission to paint some pictures for   
the town  hall of ,ghent in good        
oil-colours4  ,it is also certain that  
,rogier  van der ,weyden--,vasari's     
,ruggieri da ,bruggia--never was a pupil
 of  either ,jan or ,hubert van ,eyck4  
#be    ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,the ,,van     
,,eycks    ,the position occupied by    
,hubert and ,jan van ,eyck in the       
history of  art is one of unparalleled  
importance4  ,a deep gulf divides them  
from  all their immediate precursors1   
who seem to belong altogether to a      
different epoch--nay1 a different world4
  ,just as their improvement  in the    
technical methods of their craft opened 

up a vista of till  then unthought of   
possibilities1 so their conception of   
life and of  pictorial form marks the   
beginning of a new era1 the passing of  
the  vague medival idealism into an art 
that is based upon the close  study and 
loving appreciation of ,nature4         
,perhaps too much stress has  been laid 
upon the so-called realism of the       
brothers van ,eyck1 and  more especially
 of ,jan4  ,again and again critics have
 insisted upon  ,jan's uncompromising   
love of literal truth1 upon his         
insistence on  details that are in      
themselves at times repulsively ugly4   
,this  realism was tempered with deep   
sentiment and a sense #bf of style      
which kept such details well            
subordinated to the general scheme1 and 
it is in this respect that ,jan van     
,eyck stands immeasurably above         
,melchior ,broederlam1 who occupied the 
position of varlet de chambre  and      
,court painter to ,philip the ,bold1 the
 grandfather of ,jan's  patron4         

,broederlam1 indeed1 as may be seen in  
his famous altar-piece  at ,dijon1 seems
 to be a far more pronounced realist    
than ,jan van  ,eyck1 simply because he 
lacks that sense of style and harmony   
and  subordination--in short1 that      
concentration--which makes us forget    
the realistic detail in the beauty of   
the complete thing4    ,the real        
precursors of the van ,eycks were the   
sculptors who carved  the tombs1        
monuments1 and reliefs in the churches  
of ,tournai4  ,in  these we first find  
the faithful adherence to the facts of  
,nature and  the understanding of the   
subtleties of form which in painting    
appear  first in the works of the       
brothers van ,eyck1 who may have also   
owed  much of their knowledge to the    
flourishing school of ,flemish          
miniature-painters1 if1 indeed1 ,hubert 
in his early days did not  actually     
practise this art4  ,yet1 even though   
the new era in painting  is1 as it were1
 heralded by the new tendencies in      

plastic art--just  as in #bg ,italy     
,giotto was preceded by the sculptor    
,niccolo  ,pisani--there is something   
wonderful1 something almost difficult to
  realise1 in the sudden appearance of  
complete and perfect works of  art1 like
 the paintings of the van ,eycks1 that  
with masterly sureness  express the     
whole essence of the ,gothic style1     
whilst at the same  time they reveal a  
new understanding of the inexhaustible  
beauty of  ,nature1 a keen perception of
 structural growth and of individual    
characteristics1 and1 above all1 an     
almost modern understanding of  the play
 of light upon figures and objects in   
and out of doors4    ,the picturesque1  
brilliant1 varied life of such cities as
 ,bruges and  ,ghent at the beginning of
 the fifteenth century cannot have      
failed to  stimulate the artists' power 
of observation1 to sharpen their        
perception of the differences of race1  
gesture1 and costume2 for the  streets  
and squares of the rich commercial      

centres of ,flanders were  filled from  
morning to night with ever-moving crowds
 of courtiers and  merchants from all   
parts of the world--,spaniards and      
,italians1  ,germans1 and ,slavonians1  
and even ,moors and ,turks1 all in their
  different costumes and following their
 different customs4  ,at the  same time 
the painters' eyes were #bh constantly  
met by the wonders  of the creations of 
architects1 armourers1 and other        
craftsmen who  flourished under the     
protection of the ,burgundian rulers2   
and one may  well understand the love   
and enthusiasm with which a receptive   
artist  like ,jan van ,eyck applied     
himself to the faithful delineation of  
the  splendours and of the seething life
 by which he was surrounded4            
,although the two brothers were in the  
habit of working together upon  the same
 pictures1 which has given rise to many 
disputes as to the  authorship of       
unsigned works1 and although ,jan1 the  
realist1 at times  approached1 though   

never equalled1 the spirituality and    
decorative  sumptuousness of ,hubert1   
whilst ,hubert1 the stylist and greater 
mind  of the two1 sometimes vied with   
,jan in the minute and exquisite        
elaboration of details1 the signed works
 of ,jan and those parts of  the ,ghent 
altar-piece which are unquestionably    
,hubert's own have made  it possible to 
characterise the distinguishing         
qualities of the two  masters4  ,hubert 
far exceeds his brother in monumental   
impressiveness1 in grandeur of style1 in
 idealistic significance1 in            
sumptuousness1 and even in sense of     
beauty4  ,even the folds of his         
draperies have a fulness and a noble    
swing which form a striking #bi         
contrast to the more laboured           
irregularity of ,jan's1 as may be seen  
in comparing the garments of ,god the   
,father1 the ,virgin ,mary1 and ,st4    
,john1 of the ,ghent altar-piece1 with  
the curiously broken folds of           
,barbara's dress in ,jan's picture at   

,antwerp4    ,illustration3 ,,the ,,man 
,,with ,,the ,,pinks4  ,,by ,,jan ,,van 
,,eyck4    ,the conception of such ideas
 as are embodied in the ,adoration of   
the  ,lamb1 or in the ,triumph of the   
,church over the ,synagogue1 at the     
,madrid ,museum1 would also have been   
quite beyond the pale of the more       
prosaic ,jan's imagination4  ,jan1 on   
the other hand1 excelled in  stating the
 reality of the visible world4          
,generalisations of human  types or of  
landscape features are unknown to him4  
,he was the first  to fix upon his      
panels all the carefully studied and    
exquisitely  wrought details of the     
actual world--sky and mountain and      
river1  forest and fields1 flowers and  
trees1 and the churches and castles1    
houses and bridges1 placed in ,nature by
 human hands4  ,it is scarcely  too much
 to say that he was the first           
landscape-painter1 just as he  was the  
first portrait painter in the modern    
sense of the word--the  first who could 

paint a scene so that it could be       
identified after  the lapse of          
centuries1 the first who could paint a  
portrait so that  the model #cj stands  
before us living and breathing1 in all  
his  beauty or ugliness4  ,to appreciate
 the keenness of his vision one has     
only to examine the marvellous          
,arnolfini group at the ,national       
,gallery1 with its almost scientific    
treatment of softly diffused  indoor    
light4  ,a comparison of this picture1  
from the point of view  of lighting1    
with anything that was painted before   
the days of the  van ,eycks will reveal 
perhaps the greatest step forward that  
is on  record in the whole history of   
painting4          #ca                  
,,collaboration ,,of ,,the ,,brothers   
,when piecing together the lives of the 
brothers van ,eyck1 it is  necessary to 
delve into a confusing mass of          
conflicting  statements--evidence which 
is only in part to be relied upon1 and  
the  theories of those who have devoted 

a vast amount of time and labour  to the
 unearthing1 sorting1 and arranging of  
such evidence as they  have been able to
 lay their hands upon4  ,incomplete as  
the records  are1 we must1 until further
 evidence has been discovered1 accept   
the  obvious conclusions from the       
indisputable data left to us4    ,we    
have ten unquestionably genuine signed  
pictures by ,jan1 and a  small group of 
others which may1 from internal         
evidence1 be safely  ascribed to the    
same source4  ,we know that the great   
,adoration of  the ,lamb1 though        
designed in its entirety by ,hubert1 is 
the combined  work of the two masters4  
,we know also that the ,copenhagen panel
 of  ,robert ,poortier #cb was in       
,hubert's studio at the time of his     
death--perhaps unfinished4  ,the        
remaining pictures generally accepted   
as genuine van ,eycks have been         
variously ascribed to ,hubert1 or to    
,jan1 or to their united efforts4  ,in  
view of the fact that not a  single     

really authenticated work by ,hubert    
alone is known1 special  significance   
must be attached to a statement1 several
 times repeated  by early writers1 that 
,hubert and ,jan continually painted on 
the  same works4    ,in trying to solve 
the difficult question which part of the
 extant  oeuvre is ,hubert's and which  
is ,jan's1 our knowledge of ,jan's      
journeys to the ,south assumes          
considerable importance4  ,for ,hubert's
  travels we lack proof--they are mere  
conjecture4  ,but there is  documentary 
evidence of ,jan's journey to ,portugal 
in #adbh1 in  addition to which ,mr4    
,weale has1 ,i understand1 recently     
unearthed  some further documents which 
establish another and earlier journey of
  ,jan to ,spain4  ,on these travels    
,jan must have become well acquainted   
with certain plants peculiar to the     
,south1 and especially the dwarf  palm  
or palmetto1 which is confined almost   
exclusively to ,spain and  ,portugal4   
,it is therefore not unreasonable to    

assign to him those  #cc portions of the
 disputed pictures in which this        
palmetto  appears4  ,some authorities   
hold that ,jan did not have any         
independent  artistic career before     
,hubert's death1 and that in the        
division of  labour ,hubert's share was1
 as a rule1 the general design and the  
painting of the figures1 whilst ,jan    
filled in the landscape and             
architectural backgrounds4    ,the      
collaboration theory has been advanced  
by ,mr4 ,a4 ,marks1 whose  knowledge of 
,flemish art is profound1 and whose     
deductions are as  conscientious as they
 are convincing4  ,to him we are        
indebted for an  interesting paper upon 
the subject1 which is at once exhaustive
 and  reasonable4  ,to retail all that  
,mr4 ,marks advances in support of his  
theory would be to reprint his treatise 
in toto2 but though it is  impossible   
here to follow all his arguments1 it is 
equally impossible  to avoid reference  
to the valuable correspondence between  

him and ,mr4  ,james ,weale in the      
,athenum1 between ,november1 #aijb1 and 
,april1  #aijc4  ,this correspondence   
arose from an article by ,mr4 ,a4 ,marks
 in  the ,athenum in ,may1 #aijj1 in    
which attention is drawn to the         
presence of the palmetto in the picture 
of ,st4 ,francis receiving the          
,stigmata 7now in possession of #cd ,mr4
 ,j4 ,g4 ,johnson1 ,pennsylvania2  a    
copy in ,turin71 which picture had been 
formerly variously ascribed  to ,henri  
met de ,bles1 ,joachim ,patinier1 and   
,mostaert4  ,mr4 ,marks has  since      
supplemented and explained his views in 
the essay mentioned2  whilst ,miss      
,frances ,weale has published an        
excellent study on the  van ,eycks1     
which1 in a concise and interesting     
form1 presents her  father's views on   
the subject4    ,it is1 of course1      
likely that nothing is proved as to the 
authorship  of certain paintings by the 
presence or absence of the exotic plants
  or other details ascribed to one or   

other of the brothers4  ,supposing  the 
assumed visit of ,hubert to ,southern   
,europe to be a fact1 ,jan may  have    
made use of his brother's studies to    
embellish his landscapes2  or ,hubert   
may have utilized ,jan's studies4  ,but 
either supposition is  extremely        
unlikely4  ,we have certain proof that  
,jan did several times  visit the       
,south1 while ,hubert's sojourn in these
 parts is pure  surmise2 and not only is
 it likely that1 rather than make use of
  second-hand material1 ,hubert left    
portions of the pictures to be  painted 
by ,jan1 but the examination of the     
various pictures reveals  the same hand 
in the painting of the #ce recurring    
details4  ,we  must1 then1 take the     
facts and the most likely deductions in 
preference to deductions drawn from data
 which are merely conjectural4          
,documentary evidence proves that ,jan1 
immediately after his reception  by the 
,king of ,portugal on ,january #ab1     
#adbi1 began the work of  painting the  

portrait of the ,infanta1 which1 by the 
way1 was executed  in tempera1 and not  
in oil4  ,this painting is1             
unfortunately1 lost1  and though there  
are several portraits of ,isabella now  
extant1 of  which one at least may be a 
copy of ,jan's picture1 there is nothing
  in any of them that can be traced to  
this master4  ,he took a month  over its
 completion1 and while the ,court and   
,embassy were awaiting  the decision of 
,philip1 to whom the picture had been   
sent1 ,jan and  his colleagues had time 
to visit several places of interest and 
people of distinction4  ,they travelled 
to the north to see the shrine  of ,st4 
,iago of ,compostella2 then to the      
south1 where they were  received in turn
 by the ,duke of ,arjona and the ,king  
of ,castile2 and  then to ,granada1 in  
the extreme south1 where they visited   
the ,king of  that city4  ,it is stated 
that they also visited many other       
places2  and1 as from ,granada they     
returned to ,lisbon1 #cf they must have 

passed through the country lying between
 ,cordova and ,seville4    ,now1 through
 the whole of the south-eastern portion 
of the peninsula  the palmetto1 or      
dwarf-palm1 flourishes abundantly1 and  
,jan could not  fail during his tour to 
become well acquainted with it4  ,in a  
letter  which ,mr4 ,marks quotes in his 
paper read at the ,royal ,society of    
,literature1 ,june #bd1 #aijc1 ,mr4     
,luffmann1 ,director of the ,school of  
,horticulture in ,melbourne1 says that  
the triangle formed by ,seville1        
,cordova1 and ,osuna1 is a piece of     
country which is literally overrun  by  
the plant1 and that the root of the     
palmetto is commonly used in  those     
parts as fuel4  ,in ,italy it is but of 
rare occurrence1 though  it grows in    
some of the islands of the              
,mediterranean2 whilst in the  parts of 
,spain and ,portugal visited by ,jan it 
is almost impossible  for the visitor to
 avoid seeing it4    ,failing1 then1    
even the probability that ,hubert ever  

saw the palmetto  growing1 we must      
credit ,jan with the painting of this   
plant1 which1  like all the other       
exotics1 must have been carefully       
studied from  nature1 for they are      
represented in most minute1 careful1 and
  conscientious manner1 and are         
absolutely true to #cg life4  ,the      
palmetto occurs in the picture of ,st4  
,francis receiving the  ,stigmata 7above
 referred to72 in the ,st4 ,anthony with
 the ,donor at  ,copenhagen2 and in ,the
 ,three ,marys at the ,sepulchre in the 
collection of ,sir ,frederick ,cook at  
,richmond4  ,the portions of these      
paintings by ,hubert van ,eyck1 where   
the palmetto occurs1 may  therefore be  
safely ascribed to the hand of ,jan4    
,other exotic plants1 which are not     
restricted to ,spain and ,portugal1     
occur in these pictures2 but they are   
painted by the same hand1 and  betray   
the same loving adherence to truth1 and 
a similar familiarity  with the plants  
as they grow4  ,it is therefore patent  

that they1 too1  must be ascribed to    
,jan1 for it is impossible to suppose   
that the  younger brother's work on     
these pictures was simply that of adding
  the by no means necessary dwarf-palm  
to ,hubert's completed  landscapes4     
,jan was probably responsible for the   
design and  execution of these          
landscapes4  ,these other exotics also  
occur in the  ,ghent altar-piece1 in the
 ,calvary of the ,berlin ,museum1 and in
 the  copy1 at the same museum1 of a    
lost ,virgin and ,child1 ,mr4 ,marks    
produces further evidence to prove that 
,jan must have painted not  only the    
foliage1 but the #ch whole of the       
landscapes where the  little palm       
appears1 including in most cases the    
architecture4  ,he  draws attention to  
the architectural features in the       
,chancellor  ,rolin with ,saints in the 
,louvre1 and the signed and dated       
altar-piece by ,jan in the museum at    
,bruges3 ,the architecture in  these    
pictures is not a real                  

architecture--that is1 it has not been  
copied from any actual examples4444     
,agreement is general that it is  an    
architecture invented1 not merely       
copied4  ,these pictures furnish        
evidence of the painter having visited  
,italy1 for marble is  represented in a 
most lavish manner4  ,this marble is not
  characteristic of ,northern           
architecture2 its use is distinctly     
,italian4  ,the painting of it displays 
the usual care and  conscientiousness   
common to all ,jan's works4  ,further   
points cited by  ,mr4 ,marks as evidence
 of ,jan's work in various pictures are 
the  representations of snow-mountains  
in various works1 and the presence  of a
 flying flock of geese4    ,the former  
is of greater importance1 as this again 
points to  acquaintance with the ,south1
 where alone the painter could have seen
  snow-mountains4  ,now1 as very similar
 architecture to that in the            
altar-piece at ,bruges1 which is signed 
by ,jan van ,eyck1 is found in  the     

,chancellor #ci ,rolin 7,louvre71 the   
,virgin and ,child  7,dresden71 and the 
,carthusian ,monk with ,saints 7,gustave
 de  ,rothschild1 ,paris71 the          
suggestion is clear that in all these   
pictures the architecture is the work of
 ,jan1 and several notable  critics hold
 this view4  ,in three of these four    
paintings we find the                   
snow-mountains--namely1 in the ,dresden 
triptych1 the ,chancellor  ,rolin1 and  
the ,carthusian ,monk4  ,and having     
established ,jan as the  author of these
 snow-mountains1 we must credit him with
 the  landscapes where this feature     
occurs in other pictures--i4e41 the     
,ghent altar-piece1 the ,crucifixion of 
the ,hermitage in ,st4  ,petersburg1 the
 ,calvary of the ,berlin ,museum1 and   
the ,three ,marys  of ,sir ,frederick   
,cook4  ,the theory that ,jan is        
responsible for the  snow-mountains is  
amply supported by the very reasonable  
deduction  that he must at some time    
have visited ,italy4  ,this is gathered 

from  the ,italian character of the     
architecture1 together with the snow    
seen in the ,rothschild picture1 the    
,chancellor ,rolin1 the  ,carthusian    
,monk1 and the ,dresden picture4  ,the  
theory is further  supported by the     
presence of the palmetto together with  
snow-mountains in the ,three ,marys of  
,sir ,frederick ,cook4  ,here the       
palmetto proves the authorship of the   
#dj landscape1 and as the view  contains
 snow-mountains it very materially      
strengthens the  supposition that it was
 ,jan1 and not ,hubert1 who painted     
them1 and  who consequently must have   
been to the ,south of ,europe--probably 
,italy--to have seen them4    ,the flock
 of geese1 which appears in no fewer    
than six pictures in  addition to ,jan's
 signed ,st4 ,barbara at ,antwerp1 is of
 very much  less importance than the    
snow-mountains and the palmetto1 for    
here  the only use that can be made of  
it as evidence is its frequent          
repetition4  ,it is found in the        

landscapes of the ,ghent altar-piece1   
in the ,chancellor ,rolin1 the          
,carthusian ,monk1 another version of   
the same subject in the ,berlin ,museum1
 ,st4 ,francis receiving the  ,stigmata1
 and in the ,three ,marys4  ,but the    
flock of wild-geese is  not a feature   
made use of by the van ,eyck brothers   
only4  ,it seems to  have been of common
 occurrence in several other ,flemish   
painters both  before and after the days
 of the van ,eycks4  ,nevertheless1 its 
presence in the pictures enumerated has 
been brought forward as  supplementary  
evidence to prove the collaboration of  
,hubert and ,jan4    ,illustration3     
,,st4 ,,barbara4  ,,by ,,jan ,,van      
,,eyck4    ,so far1 then1 evidence has  
been shown to prove ,jan's share in the 
following pictures3 the #da ,chancellor 
,rolin1 the ,virgin and  ,child 7at     
,dresden71 the ,carthusian ,monk in the 
,rothschild  ,collection1 ,st4 ,francis 
receiving the ,stigmata1 ,st4 ,anthony  
and  the ,donor 7at ,copenhagen71 ,the  

,three ,marys at the ,sepulchre1 the    
,crucifixion 7at ,st4 ,petersburg71 the 
,calvary 7at ,berlin71 and the  great   
altar-piece at ,st4 ,bavo1 ,ghent4      
,still another point which has  been    
generally urged to prove collaboration  
of the two brothers is  the appearance  
of their portraits in certain pictures4 
,they are seen  in the panel of the     
,ghent altar-piece representing the     
,just ,judges1  in the copy of the lost 
,fountain of ,life or ,the ,triumph of  
the  ,church over the ,synagogue in the 
,madrid ,museum1 and also1 it is  said1 
in the ,crucifixion of ,st4 ,petersburg4
    ,though the theory of collaboration 
is an old one1 doubts have arisen       
amongst modern critics1 who have shown a
 growing tendency to ascribe  the       
majority of the unsigned works solely to
 the elder brother1 which  attribution  
is refuted not only by the arguments    
here set forth1 but  by many early      
writers1 including ,guicciardini and van
 ,mander1 both  notable and reliable    

historians4    ,before leaving the      
question of collaboration1 a few words  
must be  said concerning the #db        
controversy that has arisen over the    
,ghent  altar-piece4  ,this painting is 
indisputably the masterpiece of the  van
 ,eycks1 and is of stupendous           
proportions4  ,the panel of the         
,adoration of the ,lamb1 from which the 
whole alter-piece takes its  name1 and  
the shutters depicting the ,just        
,judges1 the ,warriors of  ,christ1 the 
,holy ,hermits1 and the ,holy ,pilgrims1
 have by many  critics been attributed  
to ,hubert's unaided efforts4  ,it is   
therefore  interesting to examine the   
landscape backgrounds of these five     
panels1 and to consider them in the     
light of the evidence deduced  from the 
backgrounds of the other collaboration  
pictures4  ,evidence  is needed to prove
 that ,jan's work was not merely        
confined to  finishing the picture after
 his brother's death 7the inscription   
states that it was begun by ,hubert and 

finished by ,jan71 which in  itself1 of 
course1 does not prove collaboration of 
the brothers4    ,in the first place1   
,jan's handiwork must be identified4    
,in the  pictures already discussed it  
has been proved fairly conclusively     
that ,jan is responsible for the        
painting of the exotic plants1 the      
snow-mountains1 the flock of wild geese1
 and the architectural  setting4  ,the  
landscapes in the ,ghent altar-piece    
contain exotic #dc  plants1 wild geese1 
and snow-mountains4  ,of the latter it  
is  difficult to speak2 they are whitish
 in colour1 but their formation  is     
neither so natural nor so well designed 
as in the ,three ,marys4  ,the exotic   
plants alone prove ,jan's work here4    
,the birds may1 or may  not1 be very    
important4  ,they serve1 however1 by    
their repeated  appearance in ,jan's    
other pictures1 as auxiliary evidence4  
,the  question for proof1 however1 is   
not the presence of ,jan's work on  this
 picture1 but the presence of his work  

before the death of his  brother4  ,and 
from this point of view it is           
significant that1 though  other exotics 
are present in profusion1 the           
palmetto--a sure result  of ,jan's visit
 to ,portugal--does not appear4  ,the   
whole work is  stated in the inscription
 to have been finished on ,may #f1      
#adcb1 two  years after ,jan's return   
from ,portugal4  ,now1 the absence of   
the  palmetto from this picture points  
to one of two conclusions--either  the  
work left for ,jan to do in the         
completion was comparatively  trifling1 
or that the greater part of the picture1
 including the  design of the           
landscapes1 was already finished before 
,jan met with  the palmetto4    ,that   
the work of the younger brother was not 
insignificant is  distinctly stated in  
the text #dd of the inscription3 ,the   
painter1  ,hubert van ,eyck1 greater    
than whom none is to be found1 began the
  work2 the bulk was completed by his   
brother ,jan1 second to him in  art1    

relying on the request of ,jodoc ,vydt4 
,this verse invites you to  contemplate 
that which was completed on ,may #f1    
#adcb4  ,this  translation from the     
,latin is chosen from three versions4   
,the other  renderings seem to be given 
by those who would translate the word   
pondus as work1 and thus give the       
younger brother credit for no  more than
 finishing an incomplete picture4  ,the 
text has1 however1  been translated by  
several learned scholars1 who are       
entirely free  from the taint of        
partisanship1 and it is now generally   
agreed that  the translation given here 
is the correct one4    ,there is yet    
another possibility which the absence of
 the palmetto  points to--namely1 that  
the picture was practically finished    
before  ,jan's visit to ,portugal1 save 
some very minor details1 which were     
completed in #adcb1 ,the presence of the
 other exotics points to this  view     
being correct1 for it would obviously be
 unlikely that ,jan  should omit the    

palmetto from all these five landscapes 
after his  careful studies of his       
favourite plant4  ,the other exotics1   
not being  #de a result of the journey1 
may very well have been painted before  
#adbi4  ,collaboration in this work is  
further proved by the portraits  of the 
two brothers4          #df    ,,our     
,,illustrations    ,the supreme         
masterpiece of the brothers van ,eyck1  
the work which1 in  the history of      
,flemish art1 has played the part that  
was allotted to  ,masaccio's frescoes at
 the ,carmine1 ,florence1 in the art of 
,italy1 is  the gigantic polyptych      
painted for the chapel of the ,vydt     
family in  the ,cathedral of ,st4 ,john 
7now ,st4 ,bavo7 in ,ghent1 and known   
from the  subject of the chief panel as 
the ,adoration of the ,lamb4  ,in its   
original form this altar-piece1 which is
 now divided between ,st4 ,bavo         
,cathedral and the museums of ,berlin   
and ,brussels1 was composed of  twelve  
interior panels and a predella 7which   

has unfortunately been  destroyed74     
,including the backs of the shutters1   
which1 like the  panels themselves1 are 
covered with the most minute and        
exquisite  painting1 the painted surface
 extends to over #a1jjj square feet4    
,the  centre panel alone1 from which the
 whole altar-piece takes its name1      
measures #g feet in width by #d feet in 
height4    #dg    ,horizontally the     
whole altar-piece is divided into three 
portions4  ,the central panel of the    
middle tier is occupied by the          
,adoration of  the ,lamb4  ,like the    
rest of the picture1 it is treated in a 
decorative spirit1 the grouping of the  
figures1 the architecture1 and  the     
foliage being almost geometrically      
arranged and balanced4  ,in a  very     
beautiful and peaceful landscape is set 
up1 on a green mound in  the centre1 an 
altar1 upon which stands the ,lamb of   
,god4  ,its breast  is pierced in the   
customary manner1 the sacred blood      
flowing into a  chalice at its feet4    

,immediately around the altar fourteen  
angels1  symbolical1 probably1 of the   
stations of the ,passion of ,christ1    
kneel  in adoration4  ,the two in front 
of the altar offer incense1 while       
emblems of the ,passion are held by     
others4  ,the cross is held on the      
left1 and the pillar of the scourging   
stands on the right4  ,in the           
foreground1 also in the centre and below
 the altar1 is the ,fountain  of ,life1 
which divides two groups of worshippers3
 on the left are the  ,jewish prophets  
and patriarchs of the ,old ,testament1  
whilst the crowd  on the right is       
composed of ,popes1 ,bishops1 priests1  
monks1 and  laymen4  ,in the background1
 emerging from the luxuriant forest     
immediately behind #dh the altar1 two   
processions slowly wend their  way4     
,the group on the right is composed of  
holy women1 foremost of  whom come ,st4 
,agnes with a lamb1 ,st4 ,catherine1 and
 others4  ,the  ,procession on the left 
again includes ,popes1 ,bishops1 and    

monks4  ,these are said to be the       
confessors4  ,above all hovers the ,holy
 ,ghost  in the form of the dove4       
,the painting of these figures is most  
exquisite4  ,the draperies are  soft and
 pleasing2 the colour is deep and rich2 
while the faces are  remarkable for     
their character and variety of          
expression4  ,the jewels  and ornaments 
worn by some of the ,popes and ,bishops 
are drawn with  loving care1 and the    
enrichments of the vestments betray a   
patience  and skill that create wonder4 
,in the distance1 above the trees1 are  
seen cities with many towers and        
churches1 behind which are hills in  the
 remote distance4  ,the foreground of   
the beautiful1 soft1  spring-like grass 
is profusely enriched by the growth of  
innumerable  flowers and shrubs1 all of 
which are painted with consummate skill 
and truth4  ,the whole picture makes a  
profound effect by its  sumptuous       
splendour1 and by the masterly disposal 
of light and shade4    ,the two panels  

on the left are the ,just ,judges #di   
and ,christ's  ,warriors4  ,in the      
,judges the whole lower half of the     
picture is  taken up by figures on      
horses4  ,behind a cliff in the middle  
distance  is seen a forest and some     
buildings of elaborate architecture1    
which  may represent tribunals4  ,the   
bridles and trappings of the horses are 
richly jewelled1 and altogether the best
 is made of the opportunity  of         
rendering with goldsmith-like precision 
all manner of gorgeous  materials1      
costly and beautifully emblazoned       
banners1 and armour and  trappings of   
beautiful design4  ,tradition has it    
that two of the  ,judges are portraits  
of the painters1 the one in a black     
garment  with a red rosary1 who is      
turning towards the spectator1 being the
  younger brother ,jan4  ,to strengthen 
the theory that this figure was  painted
 by ,jan after ,hubert's death1 ,mr4    
,weale suggests that the  black habit   
and red rosary denote mourning1 probably

 for his brother  ,hubert4    ,as       
regards the other panel1 ,mr4 ,six has  
advanced an interesting  theory with    
respect to the soldier who wears a blue 
head-dress4  ,he  calls attention to a  
pentimento in substituting for a crown  
on this  figure the blue head-dress4    
,mr4 ,six claims to have identified this
  figure as ,jean ,sans ,peur1 who      
probably saw the painting1 #ej and      
objected to being represented with a    
crown while ,godfrey de ,bouillon  wore 
only a fur cap1 and therefore persuaded 
the painter to alter it  to the blue cap
 or bonnet which was the badge of the   
,burgundians  against the ,armagnacs4   
,from this the supposed alteration must 
have  taken place a little after #adaj1 
whereas1 according to early art         
historians1 the altar-piece was only    
begun between #adae and #adbj4          
,illustration3 ,,the ,,just ,,judges1   
,,and ,,christ',s ,,warriors4  ,,by     
,,hubert ,,and  ,,jan ,,van ,,eyck4     
,though the limitations of the present  

little volume make it  impossible to    
reproduce the other panels which        
originally formed part  of the colossal 
altar-piece1 it will not be out of place
 here to  describe them in detail1 as   
they all form part of a wonderfully     
complete and harmonious scheme4  ,as    
pendants to the ,judges and  ,warriors1 
to the right of the central panel were  
the ,holy ,hermits  and the ,holy       
,pilgrims4  ,rocks1 cliff1 and foliage  
are found in the  background of the     
hermits1 but1 as suggestive of          
retirement and  remoteness1 no          
architecture is seen4  ,the pilgrims are
 represented  walking up a valley       
towards the spectator4  ,on the right1  
in the  background1 is a hill covered   
with various trees1 and in the distance 
is seen a river and meadows1 with a town
 and low hills beyond4  ,the  pilgrims  
are led by ,st4 ,christopher1 #ea whose 
giant proportions  tower above the rest 
of the procession4    ,the upper tier of
 the polyptych consists of seven panels1

 or rather  three panels1 the combined  
width of which corresponds with that of 
the ,adoration panel below1 and two     
shutters on each side4  ,the  grand     
figure in the centre panel1 majestically
 enthroned1 has been  variously held to 
represent ,god the ,father and ,christ1 
and the ,latin  inscription may be      
equally applied to both4  ,perhaps it   
was the  painter's idea to personify    
both in one figure4  ,on ,his brow is   
the  ,crown of ,heaven1 and at ,his feet
 the ,crown of ,purity and ,innocence1  
which the ,lamb has won on earth4  ,the 
panel to ,his right shows the  ,virgin1 
gazing in devotion at an open book in   
her hands--a conception  of such purity 
and innocence that it recalls the spirit
 of ,fra  ,angelico4  ,to his left is   
the equally nobly conceived figure of   
,st4  ,john1 an open book in his lap1   
with his right hand raised1 as it  were1
 in exhortation4  ,the monumental style 
of these figures1 and  their deep       
significance1 leave no doubt that these 

panels are from  the brush of the elder 
brother ,hubert4    ,these panels are   
flanked by two shutters on each side--a 
choir of  angels and ,st4 ,cecilia #eb  
with some angels within1 and ,adam and  
,eve at the extreme ends4  ,the         
relentless realism of the latter1  which
 borders close on ugliness1 marks them  
as the work of ,jan4  ,the  figures are 
undoubtedly painted from life1 and were 
held to be so  wonderful that for some  
time the whole altar-piece was known as 
the  ,adam and ,eve painting4  ,jan may 
also be held responsible for the  angels
 and ,st4 ,cecilia1 both of which have  
many characteristics that  tally with   
well-authenticated works by the master4 
,the predella  which originally adorned 
the altar-piece has unfortunately been  
destroyed4  ,the reverse of the lower   
shutters shows the figures of  ,st4     
,john the ,evangelist1 ,st4 ,john the   
,baptist1 and portraits of the  donor1  
,jodoc ,vydt1 and his wife2 and of the  
upper shutters1 the  ,annunciation and  

figures of prophets and sibyls4  ,only  
the  ,adoration and the three important 
panels above 7,god the ,father1 the     
,virgin1 and ,st4 ,john7 remain at the  
,cathedral of ,st4 ,bavo at ,ghent2  the
 ,adam and ,eve are now at the ,brussels
 ,museum1 and the other  shutters at the
 ,berlin ,museum4    ,there are still   
extant portions of a copy of this great 
work which  was painted at the command  
of ,philip ,,ii4 of ,spain by ,michael  
#ec  ,cocxie4  ,the wings of this copy  
are now added to the original centre    
portion at ,ghent4  ,there is a second  
copy of the ,ghent altar-piece in  the  
museum of ,antwerp4    ,upon the        
consecration of the great masterpiece at
 ,st4 ,bavo vast  multitudes of people  
came into the city to see the work1 the 
fame of  which soon became known        
throughout the whole of ,western        
,europe4  ,and  for more than four      
centuries it remained the wonder of     
,ghent4    ,mr4 ,r4 ,petrucci states    
that in #aijd1 during a demolition of a 

house  in the ,rue du ,gouvernement at  
,ghent1 the old walls were discovered of
  a ,steen believed to have been the    
property of ,jodoc ,vydt1 the patron  of
 the van ,eycks1 who commissioned them  
to execute the ,ghent  polyptych4  ,in a
 room upon the third floor1 #dj feet up1
 a square  window was discovered exactly
 answering in orientation and position  
to the town which appears in the        
,adoration of the ,lamb1 and which  has 
been recognised as a view over the ,rue 
,courte du ,jour4  ,in the  foreground  
is seen the ,steen1 on the site of which
 was afterwards  built the little       
butcher's shop near the present         
bird-market4  ,above  it rises the      
tournelle of the weavers' chapel1 which 
was used in turn  as a butcher's shop1 a
 pleasure #ed resort1 and a place of    
auction1  and is now a garage for       
motor-cars4  ,further away1 in the      
background1  is the old fortified gate  
which defended the passage of the bridge
 of  the canal of the coppersmiths4  ,on

 the left of the scene is a             
representation of another front of the  
,steen1 which stood on that  side at the
 corner of the ,rue ,courte du ,jour and
 the ,rue de ,brabant4  ,the window     
reveals this scene exactly4  ,it seems  
certain1 says ,mr4  ,petrucci1 that this
 was the room in which ,hubert and ,jan1
 or1 at any  rate1 ,jan1 van ,eyck      
painted the famous polyptych of the     
,mystic ,lamb4    99 99 99 99 99    ,the
 portrait group by ,jan van ,eyck known 
as ,jan ,arnolfini and ,jeanne  dc      
,chenany1 his ,wife1 must be counted    
among the greatest treasures  of the    
,london ,national ,gallery1 as it is1   
perhaps1 the most perfect  as well as   
the most characteristic example of the  
master's art4  ,arnolfini1 who was      
,jan's brother-in-law1 a man of solemn  
and  depressing countenance1 with heavy1
 drooping lids and long1                
wide-nostrilled nose1 is seen standing  
in his bed-chamber4  ,his right  hand is
 raised as if enjoining silence1 his    

left extended to his  wife1 whose open  
countenance denotes docility and calm4  
#ee  ,arnolfini wears a tunic of a dark 
green stuff1 over which is a cloak  of  
dark red1 which reaches well below the  
knees1 and is lined and  edged with fur4
  ,it is divided at the sides from the  
bottom to the  shoulder4  ,he wears a   
large and curiously shaped hat1 which in
 a  manner resembles a beefeater's      
head-gear4  ,his wife is habited in a   
long and ample robe of green1 rather    
bright in colour1 and lined and  trimmed
 with white fur4  ,she has raised the   
folds of the robe in  front1 thus       
revealing an undergarment of dark blue1 
trimmed also with  fur4  ,round her     
strikingly high waist is a narrow belt  
of leather1  decorated with gilding and 
polished4  ,on her head is a large      
kerchief  with a worked border1 which is
 caught up at the sides in the          
prevailing fashion4  ,round her neck she
 wears a double row of pearls4  ,the    
drawing of the drapery1 which falls     

straight to the floor1 is  bold and     
severe1 realistic1 and devoid of any    
attempt at affectation4    ,in the      
foreground is a small dog1 and to the   
left1 on the floor1 a  pair of pattens4 
,in the centre of the room1 slightly    
behind and  above the heads of the      
figures1 hangs a brass chandelier of    
pierced  work4  ,of its six arms only   
one holds a candle1 and this is burning1
  the #ef single flame being probably a 
symbol of conjugal affection  or unity1 
as there is no other reason for its     
presence in a chamber  well lit by two  
large windows on the left--one behind   
the figures and  one in advance1 which  
is not shown1 but the light from which  
falls  straight upon the faces4  ,on the
 wall behind the two figures a  circular
 convex mirror reflects a portion of the
 room1 with two  additional figures4    
,beside it hangs an amber rosary4  ,the 
flesh  painting is admirably soft1      
delicate1 and transparent2 the light and
  shade powerful1 yet so well arranged  

that only the closest  examination will 
reveal what an important factor it is in
 the success  of the picture4  ,the     
whole thing is touching in the simple   
straightforwardness of statement1 and   
all the details are wrought  with       
inimitable but unobtrusive minute       
precision4  ,in the management  of      
tone-values and of indoors atmosphere   
,jan proves himself in this  picture far
 ahead of his time4    ,the signature of
 this ,arnolfini picture is written in  
ornamental  ,gothic characters          
immediately above the mirror1 and takes 
the  extraordinary form ,johannes de    
,eyck fuit hic 7,jan van ,eyck was      
here71 with the date #adcd4  ,owing to  
this ambiguous wording1 which  may #eg  
be1 and has been1 interpreted as this   
was ,jan van ,eyck1  the picture was    
formerly held to represent the artist   
himself and his  wife1 a theory which   
still has its defenders4  ,a full       
pedigree of the  picture is given in the
 ,national ,gallery catalogue4  ,it     

belonged in  #aeaf to ,margaret of      
,austria1 to whom it was given by ,don  
,diego de  ,guevara1 whose arms were    
painted on the shutters which were      
originally attached to it4  ,afterwards 
it passed into the hands of a           
barber-surgeon at ,bruges1 who presented
 it to the then ,regent of the          
,netherlands1 ,mary1 the sister of      
,charles ,v41 and ,queen ,dowager of    
,hungary4  ,this ,princess valued the   
picture so highly that she granted  the 
barber-surgeon in return a pension1 or  
office1 worth #ajj florins  per annum4  
,the picture is included in the list of 
valuables which  she carried with her to
 ,spain in #aeef1 from which date it    
disappeared  until #ahae1 when it was   
discovered by ,major-,general ,hay in   
the  apartments to which he was taken1  
in ,brussels1 to recover from wounds    
received at ,waterloo4  ,he subsequently
 purchased the picture1 and  disposed of
 it to the ,british ,government in      
#ahdb1 since which date it  has been at 

the ,national ,gallery4  ,henri ,bouchot
 was of opinion that  the picture is not
 #eh the one of ,arnolfini the traces of
 which are  lost in #aeef1 but a        
portrait of van ,eyck and his wife1     
painted as a  pendant to the lost       
,arnolfini group4  ,to support his view 
he pointed  out the resemblance of the  
woman in this picture with the portrait 
of  ,jan's wife at the ,bruges ,museum4 
99 99 99 99 99      ,illustration3      
,,portrait ,,of ,,timothy4  ,,by ,,jan  
,,van ,,eyck4    ,the portrait at the   
,national ,gallery which1 from the name 
inscribed  in ,greek characters on the  
stone parapet that extends across the   
bottom of the panel1 is known as the    
bust of ,timothy1 bears the date        
,october #aj1 #adcb1 and is therefore   
the earliest of ,jan's signed and  dated
 pictures--always excepting the         
much-overpainted ,chatsworth  panel of  
#adba4  ,it is not in quite so good a   
state of preservation as  the other     
portrait of a man by ,jan1 in the same  

,gallery1 which is  dated #adcc1 but the
 face itself is in fairly good          
condition4  ,the  features are broad and
 massive1 and inclined to heaviness2 the
 eyes  are somewhat deep-set1 while the 
cheek-bones are prominent4  ,his  right 
hand holds a small roll of parchment    
with some writing upon it4  ,on the     
parapet1 beneath the ,greek word        
,tymotheos1 is the  inscription ,,leal  
,,sovvenir1 and the signature #ei ,fact 
ao4 ,d7m-macron74 #adcb4 #aj4 die       
,octobris4 a ,joh4 de ,eyck4     99 99  
99 99 99    ,the portrait known as ,the 
,man with the ,pinks at the ,berlin     
,museum1  is one of the most            
characteristic of ,jan's portraits4  ,it
 shows an  elderly man in a dark grey   
coat with fur cuffs and collar and a    
broad-brimmed beaver hat4  ,at the neck 
the brocade collar of a tunic  shows    
above the fur collar of the coat4  ,the 
ornament of this brocade  seems to      
consist of the alternating letters ,y   
and ,c1 which occur in  one or two other

 portraits of the period1 and may       
eventually afford  some clue as to the  
identity of the sitter4  ,round the neck
 is a  twisted wire chain1 from which   
hangs a headless cross and the bell of  
,st4 ,anthony4  ,both hands are raised  
as high as the breast1 the  fingers and 
thumb of the left holding three pinks4  
,a handsome ring  with two stones is on 
the third finger4  ,the face1 wrinkled  
and  lined1 is full of expression and   
life2 the lips are parted1 as though    
about to give utterance to speech4      
,though the drawing is almost hard  in  
its exact delineation1 it is far from   
rigid4  ,it is altogether an  admirable 
example of ,jan's lifelike realism1 that
 loves to dwell on  every little ugly   
#fj detail--ill-shapen ears1 puffy      
tear-bags1  warts and wrinkles--and yet 
infuses the whole thing with the beauty 
of life and character4    99 99 99 99 99
    ,illustration3 ,,the ,,van ,,der    
,,paele ,,altar-,,piece4  ,,by ,,jan    
,,van ,,eyck4    ,the ,virgin and       

,child1 with ,st4 ,donatian1 ,st4       
,george1 and the ,donor1  ,george van   
der ,paele1 ,canon of the ancient       
,cathedral of ,st4 ,donatian  at        
,bruges1 bears the date #adcf1 and is   
the most important of ,jan van  ,eyck's 
religious compositions4  ,the scene is  
in the circular apse of  a ,romanesque  
church1 lighted by the soft rays that   
filter through the  leaded windows4     
,the ,virgin1 draped in a red cloak1 is 
seen in the  centre under a green       
canopy1 holding the ,christ-,child in   
her lap4  ,she has the same heavy1      
matronly features as the ,virgin of ,the
  ,annunciation in ,st4 ,petersburg and 
of the ,chancellor ,rolin picture  in   
,paris1 and is no more idealised than   
the by no means attractive  infant      
,saviour1 who is playing with a parrot4 
,it is all very human  and wonderfully  
true1 and for that very reason lacking  
in spiritual  significance4  ,on the    
left stands ,st4 ,donatian in a gorgeous
 and  marvellously painted brocade robe1

 whilst on the right ,st4 ,george1 in   
armour1 presents the kneeling ,canon van
 der ,paele to the ,virgin4  ,the       
patron saint1 again1 #fa is obviously   
painted from a model of low  rank in    
life--perhaps a peasant or a stableman2 
whilst the rugged  irregular features of
 the donor are set down with an honest  
and  painstaking straightforwardness    
that seems to delight in doing full     
justice to all the sitter's ugliness4   
,as objective portraiture pure  and     
simple1 this head of van der ,paele has 
probably never been  surpassed in the   
whole history of art4  ,the supreme     
mastery of ,jan  van ,eyck manifests    
itself in the creation of a work of     
unforgettable  beauty and sumptuous     
splendour from such unpromising         
material4  ,the  ugliness of the types  
chosen is forgotten when one's eyes     
revel in  the rich scheme of colour1 the
 extraordinary beauty of the painting   
of all the stuffs and accessories1 the  
perfect modelling of the  features1 and1

 above all1 the 7for the time7 amazing  
knowledge of the  effect of light4      
,with all the richness of pigment there 
is not a  single note in this whole     
large panel that is not absolutely in   
tone2 nothing is forced1 nothing        
arbitrary1 as though the                
fifteenth-century master had already    
adopted the principle of the            
nineteenth-century impressionists--the  
first subject of a picture is  light4   
,the van der ,paele altar-piece was in  
the sacristy of the church of  ,st4     
,donatian when #fb the old basilica was 
destroyed by the  revolutionary troops4 
,it was taken to ,paris1 together with  
much  other artistic booty1 but was     
returned to ,bruges in #ahad1 and is now
  in the ,museum of the ,academy of that
 city4  ,the drapery round the  loins of
 the infant ,saviour is a later addition
 which does not appear  in the excellent
 early copy at the ,antwerp ,museum1    
from which our  illustration is a       
reproduction4  ,the original at ,bruges 

bears the  inscription in small ,gothic 
letters3 ,hoc opus fecit fieri magister 
,georgius de ,pala1 huius ecclesie      
canonicus1 per ,johannem de ,eyck       
pictorem4  ,et fundavit hic duas        
capellanias de gremio chori domini ,m4  
ccc4  xxxiiij41 completing anno #adcf4  
99 99 99 99 99    ,at the ,museum of    
,antwerp is the exquisite unfinished    
little painting  of ,st4 ,barbara1      
signed and dated3 ,,johes ,,de ,,eyck   
,,me ,,fecit #adcg4  ,the  saint1 with  
an open book on her lap and a           
palm-branch in her hand1 is  seated in  
front of an elaborately designed ,gothic
 tower in course of  construction4      
,around the tower are numerous figures  
of labourers1  masons1 horsemen1 and    
others2 and the background shows a      
landscape  with mountains1 castles1     
rivers1 fields and trees1 and a town on 
a  hill4  ,technically1 this picture #fc
 is supremely interesting1 as it  shows 
that at a comparatively late period of  
his life--a quarter of a  century after 

the reputed discovery of                
oil-painting--,jan has not  altogether  
discarded the practice of               
tempera-painting4  ,for the whole       
composition1 the pensive-looking saint  
and the widespread angular  folds of her
 garment1 the tower and the figures1 are
 carefully drawn  and shaded in brown   
tempera colour on a preparation of gum  
or white  of egg4  ,only the part which 
required no special design1 the sky1 is 
painted in oil-colour4  ,it may thus be 
assumed that it was the  practice of the
 brothers van ,eyck to work with        
oil-colours on a  tempera foundation4   
,the ,st4 ,barbara also confirms ,karel 
van ,mander's statement that  ,jan's    
sketches were more complete and more    
carefully wrought than the  finished    
paintings of other artists4  ,m4 ,henri 
,hymaus suggests that  this ,st4        
,barbara is the very painting which van 
,mander mentions as  being in the       
possession of his master ,lucas de      
,heere at ,ghent1 and  representing a   

woman behind whom was a landscape2 it   
was but a  preparation1 and yet         
extraordinarily beautiful4    99 99 99  
99 99    #fd    ,our last illustration  
represents1 or is supposed to represent1
 ,the  ,enthronement of ,thomas  ,becket
 as ,archbishop of ,canterbury1 and is  
in the possession of the ,duke of       
,devonshire1 at ,chatsworth4  ,in a     
late ,norman church ,thomas  ,becket is 
seen in the foreground under a  scarlet 
canopy1 with the ,holy ,ghost hovering  
near1 and above is a  splendid crown in 
which the figure of the risen ,christ is
 introduced2  above the crown is a      
circle with a ,virgin and ,child4       
,three ,bishops  are engaged in placing 
the mitre upon the head of the saint1   
while a  priest with an open book is    
kneeling before him4  ,on the right are 
the clergy and on the left the laity1   
with ,king ,henry ,,ii4 at their  head4 
,on the border is the inscription3      
,johes de ,eyck1 fecit1 ano1            
,m4,,cccczi1 #cj ,octobris4  ,this      

inscription1 if genuine1 is the only    
evidence of ,jan's authorship of the    
picture which has been entirely         
repainted1 so that nothing of the       
original work is to be seen4  ,the      
date1 #adba1 is eleven years earlier    
than any other dated picture by  ,jan   
van ,eyck4  ,it is scarcely necessary to
 point out the importance  of this fact 
to the art historian in search of       
evidence of ,jan's  early activity2 but 
whilst the picture remains in its       
present  condition it cannot throw #fe  
any light upon the debated points4      
,only if the surface paint were removed 
would it be possible to judge  whether  
below it is a real early work of ,jan   
van ,eyck1 and what was  the relative   
position of the two brothers before     
,hubert's death4    ,the ,enthronement  
of ,thomas  ,becket has an interesting  
pedigree4  ,it was given by ,john1 ,duke
 of ,bedford1 to ,king ,henry ,v41 and  
was  afterwards in the collection of the
 second ,earl of ,arundel1 who died  at 

,padua in #afdf1 bequeathing it to      
,henry1 the sixth ,duke of ,norfolk1  by
 whose son1 the seventh ,duke1 it was   
sold4  ,it came through the  ,duke's    
steward1 ,mr4 ,fox1 to a ,mr4 ,sykes1   
who sold it to the ,duke of  ,devonshire
 in #agbb4          #ff      ,,list ,,of
 ,,works1    ,,catalogued ,,according   
,,to    ,,locality                      
,,austria-,,hungary4    ,,vienna        
,,museum4--,portrait of ,jan de ,leeuw  
7,jan71 signed and dated  #adcf4        
,portrait of ,nicolas ,albergati1       
,cardinal of the ,church of the ,holy   
,cross 7,jan71 painted1 probably1 in    
#adca1 when the ,cardinal passed        
through ,flanders on a political        
mission4  ,this picture is mentioned  in
 the inventory of the ,archduke ,leopold
 ,william1 ,governor of the             
,netherlands1 #afee4  ,a silver-point   
sketch for the portrait is in the       
,dresden ,print ,cabinet4               
,,belgium4    ,,ghent1 ,,cathedral ,,of 
,,st4 ,,bavo4--,the ,adoration of the   

,lamb triptych  7,hubert and ,jan2 see  
p4 #df74    #fg    ,,antwerp            
,,museum4--,st4 ,barbara 7,jan71 #adcg  
7see p4 #fb74    ,the ,virgin and ,child
 by the ,fountain 7,jan71 #adci4        
,,bruges ,,museum4--,virgin and ,child1 
with ,st4 ,donatian1 ,st4 ,george1 and  
the ,donor1 ,george van der ,paele      
7,jan71 #adcf 7see p4 #fj74    ,portrait
 of ,jan ,van ,eyck's ,wife 7,jan71     
#adci4    ,,brussels ,,museum4--,adam   
and ,eve3 shutters from the ,adoration  
triptych at ,st4 ,bavo1 ,ghent 7,jan2   
see p4 #eb74    ,,louvain1 ,m4 ,g4      
,,helleputte4--,triptych of the ,virgin 
and ,child1 with  the ,donor1 ,nicolas  
de ,maelbeke1 in ,adoration1 unfinished 
7,jan71  #acdj4  ,the shutters contain  
representations of ,gideon standing     
before  an angel1 the burning bush1     
,aaron with a blossoming rod1 and other 
subjects from the ,old ,testament4      
,,british ,,isles4    ,,chatsworth1     
,,duke ,,of ,,devonshire4--,the         
,enthronement of ,thomas   ,becket 7,jan

 7872 see p4 #fd74    #fh    ,,ince     
,,hall1 ,,mr4 ,,weld                    
,,blundell4--,virgin and ,child 7,jan73 
a panel of  very small dimensions and   
miniature-like execution1 painted in    
#adcb1  and inscribed ,als ikh kan 7,as 
well as ,i can74    ,,london1 ,,national
 ,,gallery4--,jan ,arnolfini and ,jeanne
 de ,chenany1 his  ,wife 7,jan71 #adcd  
7see p4 #ed74    ,portrait of ,timothy1 
,leal ,souvenir 7,jan71 #adcb 7see p4   
#eh74    ,portrait of a ,man with a     
,chaperon or ,turban 7,jan71 #adcc4     
,inscribed  on the frame3 ,johes de     
,eyck me fecit anno ,,mcccc #cc #ba     
,octobris1  and ,als ikh kan4  ,formerly
 in the ,arundel ,collection4           
,,richmond1 ,,sir ,,frederick           
,,cook4--,the ,three ,marys at the      
,sepulchre  7variously attributed to    
,hubert and ,jan74      ,,denmark4      
,,copenhagen1 ,,royal ,,gallery4        
,robert ,poortier1 protected by ,st4    
,antony 7,hubert74    #fi    ,,france4  
,,paris1 ,,louvre4--,chancellor ,rolin  

kneeling before the ,virgin and  ,child1
 with a river landscape seen through a  
loggia of three arches  7generally      
ascribed to ,hubert1 but more probably  
by ,jan74    ,,baron ,g4 ,,de           
,,rothschild4--,virgin and ,child1 with 
,st4 ,anne1 ,st4  ,barbara1 and a       
,carthusian ,monk1 who has been         
identified as ,herman  ,steenken1 of    
,suutdorp1 ,vicar of a ,carthusian      
,nunnery near ,bruges  7,hubert and     
,jan74      ,,germany4    ,,berlin1     
,,national ,,gallery4--,six shutters    
from the ,adoration  altar-piece of ,st4
 ,bavo1 ,ghent 7,hubert and ,jan2 see p4
 #dh74    ,a replica of the ,virgin and 
,child1 with a ,carthusian ,monk1 in the
  collection of ,baron ,g4 de           
,rothschild1 ,paris4    ,head of ,christ
 7,jan71 #adci4    ,portrait of a       
,knight of the ,golden ,fleece1 probably
 ,baudouin de  ,lannoy 7,jan74    ,the  
,man with the ,pinks 7,jan2 see p4 #ei74
    #gj    ,,dresden                    
,,gallery4--,triptych1 ,the ,virgin and 

,child ,enthroned4  ,on the  wings are  
the figures of ,st4 ,catherine and the  
donor1 and on the back  of the shutters 
the ,annunciation 7,jan74               
,,frankfort1 ,,staedel                  
,,institute4--,the ,virgin and ,child   
,enthroned 7,jan74    ,,leipzig         
,,museum4--,portrait of a ,man 7,jan874 
,,italy4    ,,turin ,,gallery4--,copy of
 ,st4 ,francis receiving the ,stigmata4 
,the  original is in the collection of  
,mr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,johnston1 ,philadelphia4  
,,russia4    ,,st4 ,,petersburg1        
,,hermitage4--,calvary and the ,last    
,judgment4  ,wings  of a triptych1 the  
centre portion of which is lost         
7,hubert874    ,the ,annunciation       
7,jan71 formerly in the collection of   
,king ,william  ,,ii4 of ,holland4      
,bought for the ,hermitage ,collection  
for #ac1jjj  francs4    #ga    ,,spain4 
,,madrid ,,gallery4--,copy of a lost    
painting by ,hubert and ,jan van ,eyck1 
representing ,the ,triumph of the       
,church over the ,synagogue1 also  known

 as ,the ,fountain of ,life4            
,,united ,,states4    ,,philadelphia1   
,j4 ,g4 ,,johnston4--,st4 ,francis      
receiving the ,stigmata  7,hubert and   
,jan74  ,a copy of this picture is at   
the ,turin ,gallery4        ,,billing   
,,and ,,sons1 ,,ltd41 ,,printers1       
,,guildford4