Carpets of Middle-Eastern origin, either from Anatolia, Persia, Armenia, Levant, the Mamluk state of Egypt or Northern Africa, were used as decorative features in Western European paintings from the 14th century onwards. More depictions of Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting survive than actual carpets contemporary with these paintings. Few Middle-Eastern carpets produced before the 17th century remain, though the number of these known has increased in recent decades. Therefore, comparative art-historical research has from its onset in the late 19th century relied on carpets represented in datable European paintings.
Petrus Christus, The Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints Jerome and Francis (detail), 1457, with a realistic depiction of a pile-woven carpet. Städel Museum, Frankfurt
Jan van Eyck, Lucca Madonna (detail), c. 1430. Städel Museum, Frankfurt
Image: Gentile Bellini Madonna and Child Enthroned late 15th century
Image: Re entrant prayer rug Anatolia late 15th early 16th century reverse
Arnolfini Portrait
Videos
The Arnolfini Portrait is a 1434 oil painting on oak panel by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It forms a full-length double portrait, believed to depict the Italian merchant Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and his wife, presumably in their residence at the Flemish city of Bruges.
Detail showing the male subject, probably Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini
Detail showing the female subject and convex mirror
Jan van Eyck, Portrait of Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin