The Arnolfini Portrait Puzzle

Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait (1434) is one of the most argued-over pictures in Western art. Recent scholarship suggests it may be a memorial — the single lit candle on the husband's side, set against the burned-out one on hers, could hint that she had already died when the painting was made.

The convex mirror on the back wall reflects the whole room, including two figures entering the doorway - possibly Van Eyck himself. The objects invite symbolic reading, but not every meaning is settled: the dog is commonly read as faithfulness, the oranges clearly display wealth, and the discarded pattens help stage an expensive reception room. Older readings connect bare feet or removed shoes with sacred ground, but current scholarship is more cautious.