Description

This film is a study of Jan van Eyck (1390-1441), the founder of Early Netherlandish Painting.

Beginning with an introduction to the painter himself, the film explores 15 of his paintings – otherwise only to be found scattered through the galleries of Europe: London, Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, Paris, Berlin, Dresden, Frankfurt, Vienna and Madrid. ?Rumania? Viewing the paintings together allows a pattern of symbolism to emerge, typically revolving around what van Eyck, in the writing on the frames of his paintings, calls the ‘heavenly light of wisdom.’

The film is accompanied by the music of the time – mostly music by Gilles Binchois, Guillaume Dufay and Gregorian Chants – and hopes to reveal the meticulous detail through which this vision is rendered. In the Endscroll, the film draws attention to the subtle way in which Jan van Eyck focuses intensely on the state of mind of his characters – whether in formal portraits or in the figures of Saints, Angels and donors – bringing them into their own unique life, so that they can speak to us across the centuries.

The use of the unprecedented close-ups of modern technology aims to take the viewers into the experience of being present with the paintings, in many cases making it possible to see more precisely into the complexities of the images.

This film of 15 paintings takes 1 Hour and forty minutes.

The same film, with fewer paintings but with the same Introduction and Endscroll, takes just under 1 hour.

Please note:

A short ten minute film of The Mystic Lamb is included in The Mystery of Jan van Eyck film, but is only the briefest hint at his masterpiece. A one hour film devoted to The Mystic Lamb is also available now, and a I hour 15 minutes film of The Mystic Lamb will be available in a month.

The Mystery of Jan van Eyck   (110 minutes Version) Contents:

Introduction:

Self- Portrait of Jan van Eyck        The National Gallery, London

The Mystic Lamb                           St. Bavo Cathedral, Ghent

Timotheos                                      The National Gallery, London

The Arnolfini Marriage                 The  National Gallery, London

The Madonna Verpaele                 The  Groeninge Museum, Bruges

The Lucca Madonna                      The  Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

Jan de Leeuw                                 The Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The Dresden Triptych                   The  Gemäldegalerie, Alte Meister Dresden

The Rolin Madonna                      The Musée du Louvre, Paris

St. Barbara                                    The Royal Museum of Fine Art, Antwerp

Niccolò  Albergati                        The  Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Mary at the Fountain                    The Royal Museum of Fine Art, Antwerp

Baudwain de Lanooy                   The Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

The Thyssen Annunciation          The  Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

Portrait of Margaret van Eyck      The  Groeninge Museum, Bruges

The Berlin Madonna                     The  Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Endscroll

Credits