Is She or Isn't She?

When I first looked at Jan van Eyck's painting Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride in my art history textbook, I was shocked by the scandal. A woman is pregnant before marriage in fifteenth century Flanders? The bride doesn't have one of those "is she or isn't she" stomachs; her stomach is clearly protruding. As I looked for an explanation, the book thankfully provided me with one. Giovanni's betrothed is actually not pregnant, but she is wearing a fashionable costume that makes it appear so. For some reason this trend has not come back into fashion, but van Eyck did spark other trends.

Jan van Eyck was the first Netherlandish painter to achieve international fame. He was also one of the Dutch masters who made oil painting popular. Oils allowed van Eyck to paint with incredible detail. Looking closely at Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride, his eye for detail can be seen. He carefully distinguished textures and depicted the effects of the light from the window. The convex mirror on the back wall is another important detail. The mirror not only shows Giovanni and his bride, but also two other figures. One of the figures is thought to be van Eyck himself.

The painting is also full of symbols. On the surface, it is a purely secular painting, but certain objects with religious undertones are also included. A pair of cast-aside clogs signify the event taking place on holy ground. The small dog represents fidelity (we get the common canine name Fido from the Latin "fido" meaning to trust). The finial (crowning ornament) on the bedpost is a small stature of Saint Margaret, the patron saint of childbirth. The single candle burning and the mirror symbolize God's all-seeing eye. All of the symbols convey the sanctity of the event and the holiness of matrimony.

With incredible detail and precision, Jan van Eyck revolutionized painting with the use of oils and the secular subject matter.

What is a pig's favorite ballet?

Answer: Swine Lake

When I think of ballet, I think of pink, tutus, and grace, but then I saw a preview for Black Swan. My previously positive views of ballet are now clouded by the creepy eyes and suspenseful music from the short 30 second trailer for the Golden Globe nominated movie. After watching the trailer, my mind was flooded with the horrors of my own ballerina days.

I was four years and doing a tap dance at the annual Christmas dance recital for Dotty's Dance Company. Everything was going smoothly until my kick ball change resulted in a stumble. Just as the cameraman zoomed in on me, I slipped onto my knee. With fierce determination, I got up off that floor and kept dancing while holding my injured knee. Flash-forward to third grade and I was struck by yet another dance catastrophe. While dancing to "We Got the Beat," I was on cloud nine. I was front row center and couldn't wait to show off my toe touch. Then, it happened. I didn't do my toe touch; I just jumped straight up. Tears welled in my eyes as I finished the dance with a look of sheer hatred on my face. It's a wonder that I made it through that.

Looking past the horrid memories of my life as a ballerina, I remember some happier memories. In second grade, my art class was given the assignment of drawing a ballerina imitating the Impressionist painter Edgar Degas. To do so, the class needed a model, and I was honored to be chosen as the model for my class. Standing on the table frozen in a tendu, I became obsessed with Degas and his paintings of ballerinas.

Ten years later, I was able to view one of Degas' ballerina paintings in person. A few dedicated Art History students and I ventured to the Frist Center to hear a lecture and to view their latest exhibit, The Birth of Impressionism. One of Degas' famous paintings of his beloved ballerinas is "Ballet Rehearsal on the Set." The ballerinas are not posed or at the center of the composition; Degas arranged them in a seemingly random manner. The center is in fact void of any figures. The informal composition shows Degas' interest in capturing fleeting moments. Like other Impressionist painters, Degas did not focus on depicting minute details--the faces of the ballerinas are painted with little detail--, but rather on the effects of light and reproducing a single moment. The different poses of the ballerinas show that Degas was also intrigued by showing the moving human body in different positions.

Even with blurred lines, the random positioning of the dancers makes the painting look realistic. I recall many Tuesday nights at the barre practicing for hours, though we weren't allowed to wear big fun tutus in our rehearsals. Degas will always hold a special place in my heart for giving me the chance to be the center of attention in my second grade art class.

Family Ties

In the world of art, artists tend to run in clans. Will Smith's family is full of rising actors and singers, the Cyrus's all enjoy to be in the spotlight, and there is even an art to the Kardashian family. Back in 13th-century Italy, there was another family full of artistic talent--the Pisano family. Nicola Pisano was a famous sculpture whose work shows a clear interest in classical forms. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II encouraged a revival of the past glory of Rome, which inspired artists. Nicola Pisano was one of these artists. He studied in Sicily or southern Italy before moving north and settling into Pisa--an excellent profitable commissions.

The pulpit of Pisa Cathedral baptistery is perhaps one of Nicola Pisano's most famous works. The pulpit shows lingering of medieval traditions: the trilobed arches and the lions that support some of the columns. Rather than employ only medieval elements, Nicola also integrated many classical components too. He added Gothic variations of the Corinthian capital, rounded arches, and large rectangular panels of relief.

In one panel, titled The Annunciation and the Nativity, densely packed large-scale figures resemble the composition of panels on Roman sarcophagi. The way that Mary is reclined is similar to the lid figures on both Etruscan and Roman sarcophagi. The faces, the beards, the hair styles, and the drapery are all clearly inspired by Roman relief sculpture. The bulk and weight of the figures also connect Nicola Pisano's representation to classical reliefs.

Nicola Pisano's son also happened to be a sculptor, and he created a relief panel of the same name--The Annunciation and the Nativity. Giovanni Pisano's panel was part of the pulpit of Sant'Andrea at Pistoia and was completed about 40 years after his father's. Giovanni's figures differ from the weighty, tranquil figures of his father. His figures are loose and dynamic with an excited energy that provides a sense of motion. The characters react to the action in the scene, and they all share a sense of spiritual passion from the miraculous events. Unlike his father's, Giovanni's figures are slender, enfolded by twisting draperies, and full of emotions.

Though they share family ties, there representations of the same scene differ greatly. As Nicola Pisano is an excellent example of the revived interest in classical works, Giovanni Pisano represents the developing movement of naturalism. Perhaps, Giovanni wanted to rebel against his father or not be classed alongside him, but either way he helped in the movement towards naturalistic representation.

Sadly, Daffy has no artistic talents, and Tommy is a more athletic than artistic type. Without any trace or hint of art in my genes, I have to take Art History as my art in order to graduate (not complaining Mr. Lovell...just saying).