November 21, 2026
Eye of the Master: Van Eyck's Portraits Gather in London
The National Gallery closes 2026 with an exhibition devoted to the piercing portraits of Jan van Eyck — including its own beloved 'Arnolfini Portrait'.
No one had ever painted reality quite like Jan van Eyck. Working in 15th-century Flanders, he pushed the new medium of oil paint to dazzling, microscopic precision — every hair, every reflection, every fold of cloth rendered with almost supernatural clarity.
The National Gallery's winter 2026 exhibition draws together his rare, hypnotic portraits, anchored by its own treasure, 'The Arnolfini Portrait', with its famous convex mirror and the inscription 'Jan van Eyck was here'.
Six centuries on, his sitters still seem to breathe — a reminder that the most advanced technology of any age is, in the right hands, the raw material of wonder.
Image: “Van Eyck - Arnolfini Portrait” — Jan van Eyck, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.