All 9 van Eyck Portraits Unite for First Time in London

Imagine seeing a painting so realistic that you'd recognize the person if they walked past you on the street. That's exactly what Jan van Eyck achieved nearly 600 years ago, and now all nine of his surviving portraits are coming together for the very first time.

The National Gallery in London will unite these groundbreaking works this fall in "Van Eyck: The Portraits." Born in present-day Belgium around 1390, van Eyck transformed how artists depicted people by making faces genuinely lifelike instead of flat and stylized.

His most famous work, the Arnolfini Portrait from 1434, shows an Italian merchant and his wife in stunning detail. The painting includes tiny touches that still amaze viewers today, from the vibrant green gown to the imported oranges on the windowsill that revealed the couple's wealth.

Before van Eyck, portraits looked more like icons than real people. Art historian Ernst Gombrich called the Arnolfini Portrait "a simple corner of the real world fixed on to a panel as if by magic."

The exhibition will showcase portraits from the final decade of van Eyck's life before his death around 1441. Visitors will see Margaret, the Artist's Wife from 1439, showing his spouse in a striking red dress and white head covering.

They'll also view a recently conserved self-portrait from 1433, depicting the prosperous artist in a flamboyant red hat. Another highlight pairs the Arnolfini Portrait with Portrait of a Man from around 1440, both thought to show the same wealthy merchant.

Van Eyck's realism came half a century before Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo became famous. While those Renaissance masters dissected cadavers to understand anatomy, van Eyck achieved his precision through careful observation and masterful technique with oil paints.

The nine portraits represent nearly half of van Eyck's surviving work. Together with his brother Hubert, he painted the Ghent Altarpiece in 1432, sometimes called "the first major oil painting."

Why This Inspires

These portraits prove that one person's vision can change an entire art form forever. Van Eyck didn't just paint faces. He captured humanity itself, showing future generations that art could mirror the depth and dignity of real people.

His technical brilliance and sensitivity to his subjects set a new standard that artists still admire today. Emma Capron, the museum's curator, notes that "their ability to baffle by their precision and liveliness is intact today."

The exhibition runs from November 21, 2026, to April 11, 2027, offering a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see these intimate masterpieces together and witness the moment portraiture changed forever.