Arnolfini’s best friend: Fellowship and familiarity in Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini portrait

Abstract

Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait (1434) has been a battleground of interpretation ever since Erwin Panofsky’s landmark 1934 essay on the painting. This article does not seek to resolve the uncertainties that remain concerning the names of the portrait’s subjects or the function that it served. Instead, it proposes to understand the relationship that the painting establishes between itself and its viewers, and to do so by considering the role of the canine companion at the couple’s feet. The dog in The Arnolfini Portrait is not only fundamental to the fellowship that Van Eyck invites us to feel both with himself and with his work; the dog’s role within the picture also nuances our understanding of Van Eyck’s own self-awareness as an artist and signals an opportunity to reconsider the limitations of traditional art-historical method.