He Fa on The Arnolfini Portrait

A dark-green long dress gathers before the body, one hand gently lifting a fold; brown fur edging circles the cuffs, and a tall folded white headdress falls over black hair. The green-dressed figure in The Arnolfini Portrait becomes a single adult He Fa character. Thick cloth rises like terrain, while the face is in no hurry to explain its figure to anyone.

The easiest way of looking turns fabric's volume directly into the body's volume, then turns volume into a life story. I want to block that overly quick route first. The image establishes the gesture of lifting folds and the direction of fabric; outline alone cannot justify physiological or private-life judgments about the character. Recognizing a famous painting does not grant permission to move beyond evidence.

Nor does this mean that clothing is merely a cover to be ignored. The green velvet's accumulation actually changes the hand's work, the body's width and the feet's position. It is neither the body itself nor an irrelevant background. Material participates in how we judge a person and therefore needs careful looking, rather than being made transparent as inference begins. He Fa's broad face beneath the headdress makes the familiar outline a little less easy to handle.

I am willing to keep that difficulty so the gaze can recognize folds as folds again. How far I lift and lower them remains my decision too. Both shoes emerge beneath the dress, and the round base has arranged no further story for me. Anyone wishing to know more can begin with this hand lifting cloth, without first completing an apparently comprehensive account of its identity.