This is a portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife. The painter Van Eyck was interested in the effects of the reflection of light. At the back of the room two figures are reflected on the mirror's convex surface, that are not seen in the main portrait, and one of these may be the painter himself.
The clarity of the scene is reflected on the clear, shiny, lens of the mirror, like an unseen eye.
Wealth, illusion, status,
religion, and transience.
A moment in time and place, recorded.
The painting is signed and dated, and painted on the wall above the mirror:
"Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434" ("Jan van Eyck was here 1434").
The people who are witnessing the scene are not present.
We are jolted into a different reality.
Seeing the red cloth in the washer, and the quality of the red fabric, the strength of the colour, and its' richness, reminded me immediately of Arnolfini. The washer and its' contents are real, but the image in the reflection is only temporary. I observe that I am in the scene and yet not present.
Within the sphere of clarity there is a quiet, unassuming, quality, that is seen in the reflection, as in a spyglass, or seeing it reflected on its’ lens, afar off, seen close. Through your awareness you have a place in the infinite.
A new beginning
This is the landscape of being aware. Beauty, wonder, and great depth, are transformed by the dawn, as you are by awareness. Ideas, ideals, and views change. Relationships change. You are not the same person you thought you were yesterday. This is a new spiritual dawn. When you see the wonder, on any day, when you are still and clear, you reflect ‘wonder’. Through your awareness you have a place in the infinite. Welcome to the Wonder.
" THE KEYS OF AWARENESS ~ The Book of Wonder "
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