Leal Souvenir — Jan van Eyck
The lesser known portraits painted by the Flemish artist.
If Jan van Eyck is known for anything, it is for his choral works, in which he created a scenography that became an icon of Flemish Gothic painting.
Works such as Madonna of Chancellor Rollin, Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, or The Arnolfini Portrait are so well known to the public that at least some may ring a bell to anyone or have been seen at some point that they can’t quite remember.
This is known as popular memory, elements that remain engraved in our culture and have survived over the years.
What is not so well known by the general public are the portraits that the Flemish painter made throughout his career, which also reached heights of great perfection.
One of them is the portrait entitled Leal Souvenir.
Also known as Timotheus or Portrait of a Man, this is a small oak oil panel dated 1432. The person portrayed has not been identified, but experts agree it may be a historical person.
This personification contrasts with the usual practice of Flemish painting as far as portraits since they used to be paintings in which a hypothetical ideal was portrayed.
