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W5DQ2_ARHI-010161363

W5DQ2_ARHI-010161363

Q Let's practice doing an iconographic reading of the following painting: Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434. This double portrait represents a wealthy Italian merchant and his bride in their residence in Bruges (Belgium). It is reproduced below, but there is so much to see so if you would like to zoom in on specific details, this is a great resource: The Arnolfini Portrait. (Links to an external site.) Without doing any prior reading, identify 1-2 items in the painting to work with. In the discussion below, describe the subject matter you've chosen and attempt to decode its iconographic meaning. Explain why you've interpreted the item the way you did. Example: "A small whisk boom hangs on the post of the bed, representing the domestic care provided by the woman in the painting."

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The first thing that caught my eye in the painting is the mirror behind the couple and how the tiny but extremely detailed reflections in the mirror shows that there were other people in the room and they were not alone. The little dog standing below also got my attention as dogs were not very common to see in old paintings of couples. This painting has many small details and each of them represents something.