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T.F. Chen Cultural Center Post-Van Gogh Retrospective: Good Wisher
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van Eyck: "Giovanni Arnolfini and His Wife,"(1434), National Gallery, London Van Gogh: "Self-Portrait,"(1886), Coll. Haags Gemeentemuseum Chagall: "The Lights of the Wedding,"(1945), Private Collection |
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The shy and happy Dutch bride is supposed to be Van Gogh's sister. In 1888, while Vincent was at the height of his painterly creation in Arles, he received a letter announcing the news of his sister's wedding. Unable to attend the joyous event, Vincent sent a portrait of his to his sister as blessing and present. The bridegroom is a Jew, perhaps a well-off merchant, and so we see Chagall's angel, musician, seven candles and wedding canopy floating above the couple in their marital bedroom. In Van Eyck's original painting, a mirror behind the couple reflects well-wishers bidding farewell and leaving the chamber. In Chen's interpretation, the mirror is replaced by Van Gogh's portrait, which carries his eternal blessing upon the newlyweds.
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