0:00:15 > 0:00:20MUSIC, SINGING IN FRENCH
0:00:20 > 0:00:23'Ladies and gentlemen, the gallery is now closed.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26'Please make your way to the nearest exit.'
0:00:32 > 0:00:34That's not yours, is it?
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Thought not. It's amazing what people leave behind, though.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I saw someone drop a pair of sunglasses earlier.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Wonder where they've got to.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Hmm.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Eh? Mmmh.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50What am I meant to do with this in here?
0:00:50 > 0:00:52Eileen Agar would have had an idea.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55She was always finding objects.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57That's because she was always looking.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00She kept her eyes wide open wherever she went.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05One of her favourite places to go was the beach.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08And in 1979, at the age of 80,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10she painted this picture...
0:01:11 > 0:01:13..called Bride of the Sea.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Maybe it was a way of remembering
0:01:15 > 0:01:18all the great times she'd spent exploring by the seashore.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21She'd walked along the magic line on the beach
0:01:21 > 0:01:25where the tide washes up shoes, fish, bottles,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27mysteriously-shaped stones,
0:01:27 > 0:01:29shells, coloured paper,
0:01:29 > 0:01:30anything you can imagine.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33She'd take lots of the objects home with her
0:01:33 > 0:01:36to use as ideas for her paintings.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Perhaps one day she saw a little boat, like the one in this picture,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41washed up among the pebbles.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Looks like a nice day out for sailing.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48I think I'll jump aboard.
0:01:59 > 0:02:00SEABIRDS CRY
0:02:00 > 0:02:02I love the sea air.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09Now I can be captain of my own ship.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11This massive fish wasn't here.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14And if the fish is this big,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16I don't want to see the size of the fisherman.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25I wish I could figure out which one of these sails I should be using.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30And how did this netting get so big?
0:02:30 > 0:02:32A minute ago, I was in charge of this ship,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35and now I've been caught like a lobster.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40WOODEN THUMP
0:02:40 > 0:02:41OK.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Well, at least I can be sure that this is the edge of the boat.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50Or not?
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Maybe it's the reflections of the water.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00But in any case, how am I supposed to sail my boat
0:03:00 > 0:03:03with this giant woman's head in the way?
0:03:03 > 0:03:07I should have known this would have been nothing like I expected.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Eileen Agar didn't paint things in a normal way.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15One of the ideas she was interested in was called surrealism.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19The surrealists thought normal was boring.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22They ignored the ideas of what could really happen
0:03:22 > 0:03:24and instead, they used their pictures
0:03:24 > 0:03:28to paint all sorts of strange images together in the same place.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32It's a bit like the mixture of objects washed up by the sea.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36One surrealist said,
0:03:36 > 0:03:39"Our heads are round so that thoughts can change direction."
0:03:39 > 0:03:44Eileen Agar agreed. There's not one way to think about an image.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Thinking isn't a straight line.
0:03:46 > 0:03:51You can even think lots of different things all at the same time.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53So she painted images
0:03:53 > 0:03:57in unusual sizes, shapes, colours and patterns,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59and put them side-by-side
0:03:59 > 0:04:01to surprise us
0:04:01 > 0:04:05and to make us look at them in a new way.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Now, the tide takes all the objects floating in the sea
0:04:12 > 0:04:16and organises them in a line along the beach.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Eileen needed a way to join up her images too,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22so she decided to use the technique called collage.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28Taking shapes of paper, we place them in layers over each other,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30sometimes cutting through them...
0:04:32 > 0:04:35..to reveal other shapes and patterns underneath them.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37Eileen learned to do this as a young girl.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42It's like sewing together a colourful patchwork quilt.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48This is a painting, but it's been made in the style of a collage,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51which is why all these objects feel connected.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54But I can't tell you where one begins and another ends.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00What do you see in these connected shapes?
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Reflections in the water?
0:05:02 > 0:05:04Pebbles on the beach?
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Other faces?
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Do you think we're inside the mind of the woman?
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Is she the Bride of the Sea?
0:05:11 > 0:05:14You can probably find things in the picture
0:05:14 > 0:05:16that even Eileen Agar didn't know about.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21Because remember, our thoughts can change direction
0:05:21 > 0:05:25and so, to see the world a bit more like Eileen Agar did,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28you just need to use your imagination.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32I found a few uses for this after all.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35CLOCK TICKS
0:05:35 > 0:05:38So keep your eyes wide open.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44And see what you can find to paint in a completely different way.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49CLOCK CHIMES
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Oh, brilliant! You came back.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Oh! Your legs start aching
0:06:17 > 0:06:19when you've been standing up all day.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Ooh! This one's too cold!
0:06:26 > 0:06:28RASPBERRY-LIKE BURBLE
0:06:28 > 0:06:29HEAVY NASAL SNORING
0:06:29 > 0:06:31This one's too annoying.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35I know the perfect place to sit down.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Say hello to the painter Vincent van Gogh.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44OK. I know it just looks like a chair
0:06:44 > 0:06:46and it is a chair.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50In fact, the picture's even called Van Gogh's Chair
0:06:50 > 0:06:53but actually, it's a kind of self-portrait.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Van Gogh wanted to tell us something about himself
0:06:56 > 0:06:58but instead of painting his face
0:06:58 > 0:07:01or his favourite view, he picked this.
0:07:01 > 0:07:05So if you want to get to know a bit about Vincent van Gogh...
0:07:10 > 0:07:12..all you need to do
0:07:12 > 0:07:15is spend a few minutes sitting in his chair.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22Mmmh?
0:07:26 > 0:07:29INSECTS CHIRP
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Van Gogh loved nature.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37And so in 1888,
0:07:37 > 0:07:42he moved to the countryside of the South of France.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45This is the kitchen of the yellow house,
0:07:45 > 0:07:46where he lived.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51He once wrote to his brother and best friend Theo,
0:07:51 > 0:07:56"What colour is in a picture, enthusiasm is in life,"
0:07:56 > 0:08:00and he had so much enthusiasm for life while he lived here
0:08:00 > 0:08:03that his pictures exploded with colour.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12The sun here was brighter than he had ever seen before.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16These floor tiles might be rough and battered,
0:08:16 > 0:08:22but all Van Gogh saw were the deep reds and pinks catching the sunlight.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24And here is the sun,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26in his favourite colour, yellow,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29shining off the wooden chair legs.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33And the straw seat.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36I wonder if the straw is from the wheat fields nearby.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40Van Gogh is probably painting in those fields right now.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44But I'm sure he'll be home soon
0:08:44 > 0:08:47because there are some onions in a box down here.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Probably for dinner.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55And back then, Van Gogh wouldn't have known smoking's bad for you...
0:08:56 > 0:09:01..so he left his pipe and his tobacco for when he returns.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06CHAIR CREAKS
0:09:06 > 0:09:08This chair isn't very comfortable.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Or well-made, to be honest.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17But then, that's how Van Gogh saw himself. No luxuries.
0:09:17 > 0:09:18It's a simple picture
0:09:18 > 0:09:22to show the simple way of life that he loved
0:09:22 > 0:09:27and that's why the whole painting is about one chair.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30For a while, another artist called Paul Gauguin
0:09:30 > 0:09:32came to stay here with Van Gogh.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36They would sit in their chairs and talk about art,
0:09:36 > 0:09:39but soon, their talks turned to arguments.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42Van Gogh got so upset after one of them
0:09:42 > 0:09:46that he cut off a piece of his own earlobe.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49He was suffering from an illness that meant that sometimes
0:09:49 > 0:09:51he couldn't control all of the different,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54powerful emotions he was feeling.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Perhaps he couldn't always control them,
0:09:57 > 0:10:01but he could try to show them in his pictures.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Van Gogh painted this one on Jute,
0:10:03 > 0:10:07a rough, woven fabric which Gauguin had brought with him.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11He already liked to spread the paint thickly,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14but now he had to use even more layers to soak into the fabric,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18so he did thick, criss-cross patterns for the background
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and he used strong lines for surfaces
0:10:21 > 0:10:23like the wood or the straw on the chair.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27The colours were put on quickly with a brush or a palette knife,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29or just straight from the tube,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31one wet paint going straight onto another.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34It's not precise, but it's full of energy.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38Knowing some of the colours he was using would fade over time,
0:10:38 > 0:10:40Van Gogh painted them even brighter.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45And to make the yellow really pop out on the chair legs,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48he swooshes a big blue line around it,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52because he didn't want to paint colours exactly as they were.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56He wanted to paint the colours, and emotions, that he felt.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59During Van Gogh's life,
0:10:59 > 0:11:03lots of people didn't understand what he was feeling.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07It took time for them to see the world the way that he did.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11Full of bright colours and beauty.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14WHISTLING
0:11:14 > 0:11:17I think he's coming back. Ooh!
0:11:20 > 0:11:22WHOOSH
0:11:24 > 0:11:27So now you can say you've met Vincent van Gogh,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29because this chair, a simple chair,
0:11:29 > 0:11:35painted in an honest and passionate way, can tell us so much about him.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37CLOCK TICKS
0:11:39 > 0:11:41So if you were going to paint one object,
0:11:41 > 0:11:46to tell people about you, what would it be?
0:11:46 > 0:11:49BELL RINGS
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Oh! Thanks for sticking around! Now it's quiet,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13I was just trying out some different ways of looking at the world.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Because there's more than one way, you know.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22Just ask the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26Late one night in 1908, he was walking through his studio,
0:12:26 > 0:12:28and he saw an incredible picture.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31It was just a collection of coloured shapes.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34He didn't know what it meant, but he loved it.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38And then he suddenly realised it was one of his own paintings
0:12:38 > 0:12:40hanging upside-down!
0:12:43 > 0:12:44A bit like this.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50And he knew immediately that he liked it better that way.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Kandinsky spent the rest of his life
0:12:53 > 0:12:55trying to get that feeling into his paintings.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59Like this one, which he painted in 1925.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02It's called Schaulken, which in English means Shaking.
0:13:06 > 0:13:07CORD CREAKS
0:13:07 > 0:13:11I think I'll try and hitch a ride.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14WHOOSHING AND WHIRRING
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Oh!
0:13:27 > 0:13:34For years, Kandinsky had been painting horses and castles.
0:13:34 > 0:13:40Fields and mountains and boats. The usual stuff.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43But now that things got turned upside-down,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46he couldn't do that any more.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49Instead of painting things as he actually saw them...
0:13:50 > 0:13:55he used shapes and colours to show how he felt about life.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Because the world could be tough.
0:13:58 > 0:13:59Oh!
0:13:59 > 0:14:07It could be exciting. It could be sad. It could be happy.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12And it could be all of these things, all at the same time.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23With these ideas, Kandinsky helped to create
0:14:23 > 0:14:27a whole new type of painting, called abstract art.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30But all those other painters,
0:14:30 > 0:14:33who'd spent years learning how to draw horses and castles,
0:14:33 > 0:14:37felt like their heads were going to explode.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40"How could something have any meaning," they shouted,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43"if it didn't look like anything?"
0:14:49 > 0:14:54Well, have you ever felt so happy you might burst?
0:14:54 > 0:14:58What did that feeling look like? Like this?
0:15:00 > 0:15:02And if you're feeling really tired,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05what does that tired feeling look like?
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Like this? Or this?
0:15:09 > 0:15:13Are green and brown a little lonely?
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Do red and yellow shake the most?
0:15:16 > 0:15:21Are some shapes hard and tough? Are others warm?
0:15:21 > 0:15:25These were the questions Kandinsky kept asking
0:15:25 > 0:15:28because he wanted to paint the emotions inside us.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36And he had another idea too.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Because one day, when he was listening to music,
0:15:39 > 0:15:44he saw colours and lines flying right in front of his face.
0:15:44 > 0:15:50And he realised he didn't just see colour, he could hear it too.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53So what sound do you think yellow is?
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Kandinsky thought it was a high sound.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00And blue, that could be deep and low.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04While red might be strong and sharp.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Kandinsky thought his paint box was like a keyboard
0:16:07 > 0:16:10and the artist was the hand that played it.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13He even called some of his pictures Compositions,
0:16:13 > 0:16:15because he felt he was composing them.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18They had the rhythm and movement of a song,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21and every one of the colours was a musical note.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27Wow! So this...hmm...
0:16:28 > 0:16:32..this is how Kandinsky saw the world.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Definitely different.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37WHOOSH
0:16:39 > 0:16:43But I bet you see the world in your own way, don't you?
0:16:43 > 0:16:46Everyone does. Ooh!
0:16:50 > 0:16:52Ohhh! Hrrmph!
0:16:52 > 0:16:55CLOCK TICKS
0:16:56 > 0:16:59My head's spinning too after all that.
0:16:59 > 0:17:05I feel excited and exhausted and wide awake and sleepy.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08I wonder how you paint all that.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11BELL RINGS
0:17:28 > 0:17:31PING
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Glad it's you and not that horrible security guard.
0:17:36 > 0:17:41You know, earlier, I heard him say I was JUST a bronze statue.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43I'm much more than that.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48But it did get me thinking. Who am I?
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Who are you? What makes you you?
0:17:52 > 0:17:57Is it where you're born? Where you live? What you look like?
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Or is it all about where your parents are from,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03like my pal the Duke of Grumpyshire?
0:18:03 > 0:18:04Ohhh!
0:18:04 > 0:18:09Well, I think it's all of those things. And more.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12But definitely none of us is just one thing.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17The man who did this painting, Yinka Shonibare,
0:18:17 > 0:18:22was born in England in 1962, grew up in Nigeria in West Africa,
0:18:22 > 0:18:24and then moved back to live in London.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26So he knows all about how one person
0:18:26 > 0:18:29can have lots of different parts to their life.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31Shonibare is a conceptual artist,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35which means he starts his work with a question or a concept,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39and then looks for images or objects to help us think about that idea.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41This picture is called Line Painting.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Looks so beautiful and bright, doesn't it?
0:18:47 > 0:18:51And if this is the answer, I want to know what his question was.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56WHOOSHING AND WHIRRING
0:18:59 > 0:19:02AFRICAN MUSIC PLAYS
0:19:10 > 0:19:13Before making this work, Shonibare had been wondering
0:19:13 > 0:19:16what images people thought about when they imagined Africa.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28He remembered the traditional African fabrics
0:19:28 > 0:19:32for sale in his local market in London, and he bought some.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34These fabrics were traditionally made
0:19:34 > 0:19:37by creating patterns on cotton with wax,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39which was then dyed and coloured.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42The designs were bright and eye-catching,
0:19:42 > 0:19:47some bold and strong, some delicate with tiny details.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Everywhere in the world,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52West African men and women were known for using these fabrics
0:19:52 > 0:19:57to make dresses, hats, shirts and trousers.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00So Shonibare was sure that he'd found an image
0:20:00 > 0:20:02that was 100% African, right?
0:20:03 > 0:20:04Wrong.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07He soon discovered -
0:20:07 > 0:20:09"Made in Holland"?
0:20:09 > 0:20:13So these fabrics weren't just about one story either.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Because they're not just African.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20They're Indonesian too.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Loads of these patterns and fabrics were first created there,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27but when Holland was in charge of Indonesia,
0:20:27 > 0:20:30the Dutch people started borrowing the patterns,
0:20:30 > 0:20:32and making them back at home.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36Some people even started calling them "Dutch wax fabrics".
0:20:36 > 0:20:38So they're Dutch.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Oh, and they're British too,
0:20:40 > 0:20:43because we started producing them in Manchester.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46The Dutch tried selling them back to the Indonesians,
0:20:46 > 0:20:49but they liked their own fabrics, thank you very much.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52So, around 100 years ago,
0:20:52 > 0:20:57the British and Dutch traders took their boats to West Africa instead.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00The fabrics were a big hit there.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02The boats kept coming and going.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04In countries like Ghana and Nigeria,
0:21:04 > 0:21:08these bright, confident designs were what everyone wanted.
0:21:08 > 0:21:12Soon, West Africans were making these fabrics too,
0:21:12 > 0:21:15and wearing them all over the world.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18So perhaps that's why this picture's called Line Painting,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21because although we can't see them,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25there are lines joining up all of these different cultures,
0:21:25 > 0:21:30and the end result is these complicated and colourful patterns.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34Some of the patterns might look very old, others very new,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37but each one is unique.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38Some have got symbols on them,
0:21:38 > 0:21:42like this one for European money, or this animal.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Looks like a lion to me. What do you think?
0:21:47 > 0:21:52Perhaps every one of these circles is like a country,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55each full of their own different traditions.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59And is this bigger circle like the world, holding them all together?
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Or maybe a big bowl where everything gets mixed up?
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Each person who looks at a piece of conceptual art
0:22:11 > 0:22:13will see something different.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16I think it's great that Shonibare asked a question
0:22:16 > 0:22:18and went to his local market,
0:22:18 > 0:22:20because now I've discovered that African fabric
0:22:20 > 0:22:22isn't just African after all.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27In the same way, I'm not just a bronze statue.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I'm a statue made from copper and tin in Cornwall,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33melted together in London.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35I'm also a big fan of art.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37I also love custard.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39I'm also running late!
0:22:39 > 0:22:43CLOCK TICKS
0:22:43 > 0:22:47So there must be loads of different things that make you you.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50How would you put them all together in a painting?
0:22:50 > 0:22:52CLOCK CHIMES
0:23:12 > 0:23:13PING!
0:23:13 > 0:23:14SHE EXHALES
0:23:14 > 0:23:16I thought they'd never leave!
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Have you got time to help me out?
0:23:19 > 0:23:22Thing is, every picture in this room's
0:23:22 > 0:23:24got an amazing story to tell...
0:23:26 > 0:23:30..and the best bit is trying to figure out what that story is.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34This one over here is still a bit of a mystery to me.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36It was painted in 1434.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38That's nearly 600 years ago,
0:23:38 > 0:23:42and people still can't agree exactly what it's about.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44So here's what I've discovered so far.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47It's called The Arnolfini Portrait,
0:23:47 > 0:23:49and it was painted in Bruges, a city in Belgium,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51by a man called Jan Van Eyck.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54So it looks pretty simple, doesn't it?
0:23:54 > 0:23:58It's just two people standing in a room holding hands.
0:24:02 > 0:24:03But if you look really hard,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05you realise there's a lot more going on.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Luckily, Van Eyck painted plenty of clues.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Time to do some detective work.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25So this is Arnolfini, who the painting's named after.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27And this is his wife.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Now, I definitely detect money here.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34The fancy fur-lined clothes are a big clue.
0:24:34 > 0:24:39And look at all this green cloth she has for her dress.
0:24:39 > 0:24:43In those days, the more cloth you had, the more money you had.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46And then there's this brass candelabra,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48this beautiful carpet,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51the mirror and the four-poster bed.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53All very expensive.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59And...just as I suspected.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01look very closely -
0:25:01 > 0:25:02oranges.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08Might look like Old Big Hat here's just left some fruit lying around.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12But, in fact, oranges were a luxury then,
0:25:12 > 0:25:15so really, he's showing off.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Now, she looks like she's pregnant, doesn't she?
0:25:24 > 0:25:27And the carving over on the bedpost is of St Margaret,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30the patron saint of childbirth.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32But actually, this woman isn't about to give birth.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36It was just the fashion then to have big, round tummies.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38So, what are they both doing here?
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Well, from the way they're holding hands,
0:25:41 > 0:25:43it looks like they could be getting married.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44Hm!
0:25:44 > 0:25:46Sorry(!)
0:25:48 > 0:25:51No shoes. That could be a clue.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Because if a wedding were happening here,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58the room would be made into a holy place,
0:25:58 > 0:26:03and, as a sign of respect, people would remove their shoes.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06I guess I'd better do the same.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08And what about their pet?
0:26:08 > 0:26:13The common dog name "Fido" comes from the Latin word for "trust",
0:26:13 > 0:26:15so if this is a marriage,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18then the dog represents faithfulness.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21But what if it's not a wedding?
0:26:22 > 0:26:26Some people think the lit candle means life,
0:26:26 > 0:26:30and since there's not a candle above the woman,
0:26:30 > 0:26:32maybe she's not still alive,
0:26:32 > 0:26:36so the painting is a way of remembering her.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Whatever the answer, it's a good job Van Eyck had oil paints
0:26:43 > 0:26:46to create all these incredible details,
0:26:46 > 0:26:48because for a long time,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52painters had been mixing their pigments with egg yolks.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54But eggs dry very quickly,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56so Van Eyck started using oil,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58which dries slowly,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02and this gave him more time to create realistic textures
0:27:02 > 0:27:05like the fur of the dog,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07the flesh of the fruit,
0:27:07 > 0:27:09the folds of the cloth,
0:27:09 > 0:27:10the shining brass,
0:27:10 > 0:27:12the leaves on the trees,
0:27:12 > 0:27:14the lace, the beads,
0:27:14 > 0:27:19and here, beautiful writing painted on the wall.
0:27:19 > 0:27:27It's in Latin, and it means "Jan Van Eyck was here, 1434".
0:27:27 > 0:27:30It's a weird place to put your signature.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32But hold on - look in the reflection.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36It's so tiny.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41I can just about see the backs of Arnolfini and his wife,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44and then behind them, two figures.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47I think one of them might be Van Eyck.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50I think he really was here,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53perhaps simply to paint a happy moment for two friends.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Maybe Old Big Hat is waving at Van Eyck.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I can imagine him right here in front of me,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05working away at this beautiful picture.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08I'd better go before he paints me into it.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Whoever you both are,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13I hope you had a great life together.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19This painting's still quite a mystery...
0:28:21 > 0:28:25..for the more you look, the more you'll find in a picture.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27I'm sure I missed some vital clues, though.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30Perhaps you'll find them.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32CLOCK TICKS
0:28:32 > 0:28:34CLOCK CHIMES
0:28:49 > 0:28:52Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd