It was my turn to produce our holiday card this year, and I just couldn't come up with an idea; I was running out of time and I had
nothing. I eventually conjured the thought that I'd like to find something with the saturated colors and rich detail of Early Netherlandish painting. When the amazing Arnolfini double portrait by van Eyck showed up in my search - as it certainly would - and I noted the predominant green and red in the composition, it seemed like a more than reasonable choice. And not too difficult to manage; not much more than face-swapping. It even had a dog in a supporting role!
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| The Arnolfini Portrait (aka The Arnolfini Wedding, The Arnolfini Marriage, Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife) by Jan van Eyck, 1434. |
And yes, with such an iconic painting, all sorts of cheeky - or worse - things have already been done to this image, painted, photographed, and Photoshopped; I'd like to think our version is a little more subtle, more tasteful, a little more respectful of the original, that most. Since, unlike the way we usually concoct these things, I started with an image rather than a concept, when it came time to give it a title, we really had no idea what story our silly mugs were trying to convey. We eventually gave up. And now we're leaving the story for the viewer/recipient to imagine. So, what
is the story?
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Nicholas would like to wish everyone a happy holiday, a merry Christmas, or whatever lovely thing it is you do to celebrate at this time of year.
(Yes, it pretty much sounds like a bark, but it actually translates to "Joy!") |
