“The Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife Giovanna Cenami” by Jan van Eyck is regarded as one of the most original and complex paintings in Western art history. Van Eyck’s sharp eye for detail and his use of light to convey interior space were exceptional for his era. Utilizing oil paint in multiple layers of translucent glazes, he achieved remarkable realism, three-dimensionality and opulently colorful expression of the couple’s wealth. It has been theorized that van Eyck (1390 – 1441) used a magnifying glass to paint minute details, including the highlights on the beads draped by the mirror. This masterpiece is exhibited in London’s National Gallery.

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