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i i I I | t 4 a: I I I i lL Not one person in a thousand suspects the real meaning of this famous double portrait by Jan van Eyck. Actually, it portrays a wedding, and all the fascinating de- tails are symbolic references to the sacrament of marriage. As John Canaday points out in the first portfolio of the Metropolitan Museum Seminars in Art, the little dog symbolizes faithfulness; the discarded sandals, humility; and the single candle, the presence of God. Above the mirror, which signifies purity, are the words, “Jan van Eyck was here, 1434," in script proper, to a document. For the painting really is a document: a painted marriage certificate! If you had come across this painting in a museum, would you have understood what the artist was trying to tell you? Or would you have missed the hidden meanings that make his work so valued and respected? . A surprising number’ of otherwise cultivated persons have a blind spot so far as painting is concerned. Visiting a museum, they stand before a respected work of art and see nothing but its surface aspects. 1t was to help such persons that New York's Metropolitan Museum and John Canaday, art critic of The New York Times, created the Seminars in Art, a unique program of assisted self- edvkation in art appreciation. Page 24 r Each seminar comes in the torm of a handsome portfolio, the core of which is a lecture devoted to one aspect of painting. Each is illustrated with many black-and- white pictures and contains twelve large separate full- color reproductions of notable paintings. As you compare these masterpieces side by side, Mr. Canaday's lectures clarify their basic differences and similarities, and so re- veal what to look for in any painting you may see. Soon paintings will be more than just “good™ or “bad” to you. You'll be able to talk knowledgeably and form your own educated opinion when you visit 2 gallery or museum. And parents will find themeeives sharing their understanding with their children, thereby providing a foundation for a lifelong interest in art. You can study the first seminar by mailing the coupon on this page to the Book-of-the-Month Club, which admin: © isters the program for the Museum. You will receive the first of the twelve portfolios, Whar Is a Painting’, for a two-week trial examination. Subsequent portfolios, sent at the rate of one a month, are devoted to realism, expres- sionism, abstraction, composition, painting techniques, and the role of the artist as social critic and visionary. ba “ rt ae . jamalos —— =] = ‘atone If you choose not to continue, simply recurr portfolio and your subscription will be canceled. The no further obligation. But if you ace convinced of the gram’s worth, you pay only $3.75, plus a small char; cover mailing and handling expense, for this and for ea the remaining portfolios you accept. c/o Book-of-the-Month Club, Inc. ; 145 Hudson Street, New York, New York roorg Please enroll me as a subscriber and send me Portfol What Is « Painting? If after two weeks I decide not to contiot may return it, canceling my subscription. If I retain it, bill me $ plus a small mailing charge, for it and for each of the remai portfolios as they are received. I may cance! this subscriptio any time. FRINT RAME BOOK WORLD May ! aay step nee ae ~ ¥ Sere ee