Jewelry

The products of these craftsmen can be obtained in the Van Eyck shop.

Elisabeth Leenknegt’s jewellery brand stands for artisanal and custom-made creations, contemporary design and fair trade. Her luxurious Van Eyck collection consists of rings, cufflinks and earrings that refer to the mirror in the Arnolfini portrait. The illusion of spreadable wings refers to the panels of the Ghent Altarpiece.

Ingrid Adriaenssens is a jewellery maker. She experiments with new production processes and different materials. On the occasion of the Van Eyck year, she drew inspiration from the Ghent Altarpiece. As a reference to Jan Van Eyck, she used his motto ‘Als Ich Can’, which means ‘as I can’ or ‘to the best of my ability’. For her Van Eyck brooches, she used materials depicted in the painting.

Leen Paelman has recently graduated as a jewellery maker; being born and bred in Ghent, she gave her graduation project the name ‘Ghent contours’.  One of her showpieces is a bracelet with the contours of the Ghent Altarpiece. On the occasion of the Van Eyck year, this design will be turned into a ring and a simplified version of the bracelet.

When creating her jewels, Marie-Bénédicte De Schryver brings her craftsmanship and the relationship with the body into prominence. She exclusively uses eco-friendly and fair-trade materials. For the Van Eyck year, she was inspired by the painting’s contours. She has created cufflinks and one pendant as a simplified miniature version and abstraction of the Ghent Altarpiece with a humorous reference to the stolen panel ‘The Just Judges’.

Anuschka Vandenberghe became fascinated by the jewellery making craft when she studied art history and archaeology. Her love of nature has inspired her to create a Van Eyck pendant: a silver Mediterranean cypress cone which symbolises paradise. The oxidation changes over time and reoxidizing is possible.

Between the folds is the exclusive collection created by Renée Sys for the Van Eyck year. Her earrings and necklaces are inspired by the masterly arrangement of light and dark in the folds of the robes depicted in the Ghent Altarpiece and the draped rushes depicted in the ‘Portrait of Margaret van Eyck’. Her numbered Van Eyck necklaces and earrings are an exclusive limited edition.

Isabelle Onselaere is a jewellery designer and goldsmith. She hand-crafts unique jewels in her shop Onis Jewelry & Fine Objects. Studded with beautiful gems, the papal tiara worn by the Almighty in the altarpiece was the source of inspiration for a series of exclusive Van Eyck dangle earrings.

In addition to her own collection, Patsy Van Damme also makes customised jewels from responsibly refined gold and conflict-free synthetic diamonds. For the thematic year 2020, she was inspired by the mystery of the lost panel ‘The Just Judges’. This unique creation owes its name ‘Hidden in plain sight’ to the fact that people are short-sighted when blinded by gold and diamonds.

Photographer Anneke Coppens transcends traditional photography with creations characterised by different forms and materials. For the Van Eyck year, she has designed bracelets composed of artificial resin and decorated with minute elements from the Ghent Altarpiece on the outside. On the inside, the bracelets have been signed by the artist herself. She also designs an exclusive ring with the motto of Jan Van Eyck.