Editing Jan van Eyck (section)

===Signature===
[[File:Jan van Eyck - Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfini and his Wife (detail) - WGA7695.jpg|thumb|Detail with mirror and signature; ''[[Arnolfini Portrait]]'', 1434]]
Van Eyck was the only 15th-century Netherlandish painter to sign his panels.<ref name="h31">Harbison (1997), 31</ref> His motto always contained variants of the words ''<small>ALS ICH KAN</small>'' (or a variant)&nbsp;– "As I Can", or "As Best I Can", which forms a pun on his name. The aspirated "ICH" instead of the [[Brabantian dialect|Brabantian]] "IK" is derived from his native [[Limburgish]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=SCHELLER|first=R. W.|date=1968|title=ALS ICH CAN|journal=Oud Holland|volume=83|issue=2|pages=135–139|jstor=42710810|issn=0030-672X}}</ref> The signature is sometimes inscribed using Greek lettering such as ''<small>AAE IXH XAN</small>''.<ref>Harbison (1997), 163</ref> The word ''Kan'' derives from the [[Middle Dutch]] word ''kunnen'' related to the Dutch word ''kunst'' or to the German ''Kunst'' ("art").<ref name="k107" />

The words may be related to a type of formula of modesty sometimes seen in medieval literature, where the writer prefaces his work with an apology for a lack of perfection,<ref name="k107">Koerner (1996), 107</ref> although, given the typical lavishness of the signatures and mottos, it may merely be a playful reference. Indeed, his motto is sometimes recorded in a manner intended to mimic Christ's monogram ''<small>IHC XPC</small>'', for example in his c 1440 ''[[Vera Icon (van Eyck)|Portrait of Christ]]''.<ref name="k107" /> Further, as the signature is often a variant of "I, Jan van Eyck was here", it can be seen as a, perhaps somewhat arrogant, assertion of both the faithfulness and trustworthiness of the record and the quality of the work (''As I (K)Can'').<ref name="c32"/>

The habit of signing his work ensured that his reputation survived, and attribution has not been as difficult and uncertain as with other first generation artists of the early Netherlandish school.<ref>Macfall (2004), 17</ref> The signatures are usually completed in a decorative script, often of a kind reserved for legal documents, as can be seen in ''[[Léal Souvenir]]'' and the ''[[Arnolfini Portrait]]'',<ref name="c200">Campbell (1998), 200</ref> the latter of which is signed "Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434" ("Jan van Eyck was here 1434"), a way of recording his presence.