Biographers of Van Eyck posthumously dubbed him the "Father of Oil Painting," because of oil painting's previous relegation to primarily wooden pieces and statues. Regardless of the origins of oil painting's use on canvas, Van Eyck was acknowledged for using the medium in innovative ways, including using unique glazes, layering techniques and other means of achieving depth of color, light, and shadows.
Art historians have published a number of articles and theories about the symbols present in Van Eyck's works. His ornate images tend to include objects and details that fill every corner of the canvas. One such painting that has been heavily dissected is "Arnolfini Wedding." In this painting, each element has been theorized to represent a different aspect of marriage, including a dog that represents fidelity, a pregnant appearance meant to possibly signify fertility, and a single lighted candle in the chandelier that could possibly represent the presence of the Holy Spirit.
The detail in a Van Eyck painting can be seen down to the drapes of fabric or texture on a wall. Despite this elaborate attention to realistic detail, a unique element of Van Eyck's work is the surreal element about the combination of depicted images. Mirrors in a Van Eyck work tend to not reflect what should be seen from their viewed angles, sometimes presenting a figure that should not be present in the painting's depicted reality. Sometimes Van Eyck was known to paint himself into a picture, or bring life to statues while painting figures that looked like stone.
Art has the liberty to embellish the images it depicts, either by distorting them or casting them in a particular style. Van Eyck preferred the unique approach of depicting buildings, people and backgrounds exactly as they seemed, without casting a romantic, gothic, or elevated visual element. For this, he is sometimes known as a record keeper of accurate historical style.