Wondering about Giovanna

It's FAME week again at the elementary school. We are presenting Jan Van Eyck's painting of the Arnolfini Wedding & listening to Bach's Toccata e Fugue and dancing to his Minuet in G.

I had fun this month putting the lessons together and decorating the stage. The painting itself is small, so I painted murals featuring the oversized figures from the van Eyck painting. I also highlighted the symbols found in the painting (i.e. the single candle in the chandelier that represents the eye of God, the dog that symbolizes fidelity, the shoes that represent sacred ground & the fruit that represents innocence), so that the kids could see them better. I made a green cloak to be worn by the picture presenters, to match the gown worn by the Giovanna Cenami in the painting. I wanted the docents to wear the costume and bunch it up around the stomach to show the same puffiness as in the painting. Everyone always says the the bride is pregnant in this painting...but in reality it is the style of her dress and part of the symbolism of fertility that is found throughout the picture. On the bed posts, for instance there are carvings of St Margaret patron saint of childbirth.

I have been looking at and thinking about van Eyck's painting all month. It has been proped up in my office so that I can view it while I work. I have developed a special connection to the couple in this picture, an Italian merchant, Giovanni Arnolfini and his bride Giovanna. They were wealthy enough to have had a picture commissioned to celebrate their marriage contract and Van Eyck worked diligently to endow the picture with all kinds of symbolism that speaks of love, fidelity and fertility. I wonder about this couple from Italy and what they thought about life in the Netherlands.They must have missed the warm Italian weather and lamented the fact that they had to wrap themselves in heavy cloaks to stay warm in their drafty northern house, even if the cloaks were opulent wraps of velvet and fur. And, despite all the hopeful forshadowing that this loving couple would have a houseful of children, they never did. I wonder what kind of life Giovanna had, so far away from home and unable to have children. All I have is the reminder of her hopeful beginning.