The Rest Is History The Arnolfini Portrait, with Laura Cumming
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Feb 4, 2026 
Laura Cumming, art critic and author, guides a fresh look at Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait with a short, vivid mini bio. She teases the painting’s famed mysteries, its hyper-real technique, the puzzling identities and gestures, and the many symbolic objects like the mirror, dog and oranges. Several historical twists and provenance questions are hinted at.
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Hyperrealism Meets Mystery
- Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait pairs hyper-realistic detail with an unresolved visual riddle.
- Laura Cumming calls it perhaps the earliest and most famous riddle in art history.
Ambiguous Couple In A Bruges Room
- Laura Cumming describes the couple standing in a Bruges interior with ambiguous gestures and status.
- She notes debates over whether the scene shows marriage, betrothal, mistresshood, or something else.
Gesture As Narrative Clue
- Small details (gestures, gaze, and raised hand) carry ritual and interpretive weight in the painting.
- Cumming highlights the man's raised hand as a blessing-like gesture open to multiple meanings.
