{"id":2265,"date":"2022-02-16T10:42:58","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T15:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/digital\/?page_id=2265"},"modified":"2025-11-19T11:55:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T16:55:22","slug":"creative-arts-corner","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/digital\/?page_id=2265","title":{"rendered":"Creative Arts Corner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Look Again! Outside Art With Art Windsor Essex<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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Pegi Nicol MacLeod was a 20th<\/sup>\u00a0century Canadian artist whose modernist work captured the richness of everyday life.\u00a0 Her paintings convey the beauty and energy that exist in the mundane.\u00a0 As part of Art Windsor Essex\u2019s\u00a0Look Again! Outside<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0initiative to share works of art with the public in an outdoor setting,\u00a0AWE\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>has placed MacLeod\u2019s painting,\u00a0Figures Sunning<\/em><\/a>, c. 1934, near the Windsor Public Library\u2019s Central Branch on Ferry Street.\u00a0 The painting depicts three figures in repose, reading and relaxing in a warm and sunny locale.\u00a0 MacLeod\u2019s fluid lines and reclined posture of the figures evokes the sunny mindset of beach reading and invites the viewer to relax as well.\u00a0 As the\u00a0AWE<\/strong>\u00a0invites us to pause and Look Again! Outside, so does this beautiful painting by Pegi Nicol MacLeod.<\/p>\n

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Build a Book: What I Love About Windsor Public Library!<\/strong><\/p>\n

We asked our young readers to work together to write a book about what they love about Windsor Public Library. Please click the link below to see the drawings from our participants:<\/p>\n

Build a Book \u2013 What I Love About Windsor Public Library<\/a><\/p>\n

Build a Book: What I Love About Spring!<\/strong><\/p>\n

This past March Break, Windsor Public Library asked you work together to write a book about the season. We received contributions from across the city, depicting your favourite Spring activities. Please click the links below to see the drawings from our participants:<\/p>\n

What I love about Spring – Delta Chi<\/a><\/p>\n

What I love about Spring – McCullough-Jones<\/a><\/p>\n

What I Love About Spring – Bellewood<\/a><\/p>\n

What I Love About Spring – Chisholm Library<\/a><\/p>\n

What I Love About Spring – Other WPL Branches<\/a><\/p>\n

Build a Book: What I Love About Summer!<\/strong><\/p>\n

This summer, Windsor Public Library asked you work together to write a book about the season. We received contributions from across the city, depicting your favourite summer activities. Please click the links below to see the drawings from our participants:<\/p>\n

What I Love About Summer – Chisholm<\/a><\/p>\n

What I Love About Summer Langlois Grade 2-3 Class<\/a><\/p>\n

What I Love About Summer – FGL RIV<\/a><\/p>\n

What I Love About Summer – BRI BUD CEN MUI SEM<\/a><\/p>\n

What I Love About Summer – Delta Chi<\/a><\/p>\n

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Windsor Public Library Amateur Photo Contest<\/strong><\/p>\n

Windsor Public Library’s 2022 Amateur Photo Contest. This booklet collects all of the photos submitted for the contest, including the winners and honourable mentions:<\/p>\n

WPL Amateur Photo Contest<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"The<\/a>An examination of The Arnolfini Portrait
\n<\/strong> by Courtney<\/p>\n

The Arnolfini Portrait, also known as The Arnolfini Wedding among other names, is a painting by Dutch artist Jan van Eyck. Completed in 1434, the painting has become one of the most well-known in Western art, not only because it is an incredible example of Early Netherlandish painting (part of the larger Renaissance movement), but also because of the discussion it has generated about its meaning and the symbolism it contains. There is much more to this painting than meets the eye.<\/p>\n

Upon first looking at the painting, it might appear to be quite standard: it\u2019s a portrait of a couple. Maybe a wedding portrait done in their home. However, take a closer look and your eye will be drawn to a number of different elements within the work: the detail of the clothing, the colours chosen, various items inside the room. You might also begin wondering, who are these two people? What is the writing on the wall over the mirror? Was there a purpose to this portrait?<\/p>\n

Perhaps the first thing worth discussing is the identity of the couple depicted in the painting. We actually don\u2019t know who they are. Not for sure, anyway. It was initially believed to be Giovanni di Arrigo Arnolfini, an Italian merchant living in Bruges, and his wife, Giovanna Cenami. However, documentation has since been discovered that shows that Giovanni did not get married until over a decade after the painting was completed. As such, it\u2019s believed that this could instead depict Giovanni\u2019s cousin Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini and possibly his first wife, Constanza Trenta.<\/p>\n

\"\"The portrait\u2019s objective is also unclear. Many believe that this painting depicts either a wedding or a betrothal of the couple. It certainly looks plausible. And it can undoubtedly be interpreted that way. Look closely at the mirror: you can see that there are people reflected in it. It\u2019s a reflection of the scene being painted. The figure in blue is said to be van Eyck himself. The couple can be seen before him. The figure in red is up for debate. Could it be the bride\u2019s father, or a civil official? The writing just above the mirror is \u2018Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434\u2019 – Latin for \u2018Jan van Eyck was here 1434.\u2019 For those that suggest that this is indeed a wedding portrait, they believe this is intended to show that van Eyck was acting as a witness to the marriage.<\/p>\n

The painting gives a feeling of domesticity. The couple are shown in what is possibly their bedroom with their belongings. Art historian James Snyder posits in his book Northern Renaissance Art that the left side of the room where Giovanni is standing represents business \u2013 the window showing the outside, the dirty shoes from walking through the streets. The right side of the room where the woman is standing represents the domestic \u2013 the bed, the chair, the broom. These two worlds are linked through the couple holding hands. But that\u2019s merely one interpretation.<\/p>\n

To give a different perspective to the painting, I\u2019ll bring up another theory. There\u2019s a Youtube channel I\u2019m a big fan of called Great Art Explained. The creator has done a video on this painting and this is where I initially heard this theory. In doing research for this post, I\u2019ve learned that others have a similar interpretation. This theory requires the couple to be the cousin Giovanni di Nicolao and his wife Constanza. Some people believe that Constanza had died prior to this painting, and that this is a posthumous representation of her \u2013 a memorial. The video\u2019s creator also believes that the chandelier may support this theory. According to him, the fact that there is one candle burning on Giovanni\u2019s side, yet the one on Constanza\u2019s side is extinguished, could lend credence to this being a memorial portrait.<\/p>\n