COSTUME
Cloth and Drapery
EACH OF THESE FIGURES is ninety percent cloth. Sculpted
folds and patterns of material speak more resolutely of their
wearers than any small glimpses of body we can see.
In Van Eyck's drawing below, the Madonna and her
architecture are both dressed in the same manner; her
marble garment holds up the infant Christ in a fountain of
compressed line. Above them, the vaulted stone roof echoes
and crowns the moment. Church and deities are drawn as
one, and the kneeling abbot is a ghost by comparison.
Opposite, Keisai Eisen's intense, swirling printed fabrics, with
their jagged edges, dragons, and snakelike marks, resonate
with their wearers startled expression. Below this, Flaxmans
sleeper—perhaps a pilgrim or a soldier resting between
campaigns—has wedged himself into the cleft of some great
building to grab a moment of peace. The quiet stillness of
this image is achieved by a masterly economy of stylized line.
JAN VAN EYCK
Flemish oil painter from Limbourg, best known for
his Ghent altarpiece (1432) and marriage portrait
of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife (1434). Van Eyck's
highly polished work is celebrated for its disguised
symbolism. He meticulously arranged subjects to
convey deeper meaning.Delicate marks Silver (or metal) point is the most delicate
of traditional drawing media (see pp.140-41). With a stylus
such as Van Eyck used here, it is only possible to create very
thin, delicate lines. He has layered these slowly and carefully
so as not to cut through the ground and produce a white
mark just where he intended a dark one.Vertical lines The highly controlled lines of this drawing
cascade from top to bottom of the image. Their uninterrupted
emphasis is entirely vertical. Short and subtle horizontal
punctuations are only given in the background by sections
of floor, bands around the columns, and implied striation
in the stone of the architecture.Marble gown We will never know if Van Eyck considered this
drawing unfinished or intended the kneeling abbot to remain
transient and ghostly. However, the carefully composed outline
of his cloak shows us how the artist would have also begun
his immaculate rendering of the Virgin's clothes. Her gown
is carved and polished as if made from marble.Maelbeke Madonna
I44I
11 x 7 in (278 x 180 mm)
JAN VAN EYCK