Where To See The Works Of The Flemish Painter Jan Van Eyck
Jan van Eyck is the great renovator of Flemish painting in the first half of the 15th century. And despite the fact that he practically always lived in the Flanders region, within present-day Belgium, the truth is that today his works are distributed by some of the most important museums in the world. So next we are going to tell you how far you will have to travel to contemplate his magnificent paintings.
Jan van Eyck the oil artist
Before telling you where his works are, we will give you a few brushstrokes about his art, never better. First of all, it must be said that Van Eyck was an exquisite artist and each of his works is of absolute delicacy. One is amazed by the whole and also by the tiniest details that are sometimes only visible with a magnifying glass.
On the other hand, Van Eyck was the first artist who began to use oil paint on a wooden support, achieving with them colors that had never been seen before.
And we will tell you that his mastery with brushes was accompanied by an incredible capacity for the physical and psychological portraiture of the characters that he immortalized in some of the works that we present here.
Van Eyck in his country: Belgium
There are many more works by Jan van Eyck scattered around the world than are preserved in his native country. But in return, in the cities of Ghent and Bruges you can admire his two largest works, and also of enormous quality. We are talking about the Polyptych of Saint Bavo and the Virgin of Canon Van der Paele .
Polyptych of San Bavo is an amazing altarpiece full of characters and realism made for the Cathedral of San Bavo in Ghent. It is considered one of the masterpieces of this painter.
Meanwhile, Virgin of Canon Van der Paele is a painting in the Groeninge Museum in Bruges, where the beauty of the Virgin naturally competes with the tremendous realism of the face of the canon who commissioned the work.
Van Eyck in London
The aforementioned Ghent Polyptych is one of Jan van Eyck’s masterpieces, and the other great creation would be the portrait of the Arnolfini Marriage.
An exceptional painting has become the image of the National Gallery in London, where there are masterpieces of all times and origins. Among them, the possible self-portrait of Van Eyck, known as the Man in the Red Turban .
Van Eyck in Paris
The Louvre museum in Paris also has a work by the Flemish painter, the Virgin of Chancellor Rolin. A work that he would carry out around the year 1434 and where he is once again shown to us as one of the best portraitists in the history of art, especially for his fidelity to reality when representing the aforementioned Chancellor.
Van Eyck in Madrid
And of course, an artist of Van Eyck’s stature also deserves to exhibit his work in another of the great art galleries in the world. In the Prado Museum in Madrid you can admire the oil painting the Fountain of Life.
A panel that may not be Van Eyck’s best work, but is a good example of the prestige he achieved and the numerous commissions his workshop received.
Van Eyck in the United States
The great North American museums have also wanted to have paintings of the flamenco genius among their collections. And not just any work, since important Van Eyck paintings can be seen in both New York and Washington.
In the case of the New York Metropolitan, the Diptych of the Crucifixion and the Last Judgment is exhibited . It is made up of two tables, but scholars think it could have been part of a larger set. And in the National Gallery in Washington DC is his delicate image of the Annunciation .
In short, with the excuse of knowing the invaluable contribution that the Flemish painter Jan van Eyck made to the history of art, we can take the opportunity to visit some of the most exciting cities on the planet, with their prestigious museums as tourist and cultural emblems.
