Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index


1 Record(s) Found in our database

Search Results

1. Record Number: 12745
Author(s): Harbison, Craig.
Contributor(s):
Title : Sexuality and Social Standing in Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Double Portrait [The painting of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife Giovanna Cenami depict the couple holding hands while standing in the bedroom, but the rest of the iconography and inscriptions throughout the image do not necessarily suggest that the double portrait is the visual equivalent of a marriage certificate or contract. The visual representation of husband and wife (including gestures and iconography) is instead a more generalized image of marriage that reflects the importance of fertility and defined sexual roles for men and women. Furthermore, the artist's detailed depiction of domestic space projects the social status, courtly aspirations, and religious values of the merchant class Arnolfini couple. Title note supplied by Feminae.].
Source: Renaissance Quarterly , 43., 2 (Summer 1990):  Pages 249 - 291.
Year of Publication: 1990.