John McSweeney
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OU Courses
Study Skills
May 9, 2008, 3:39 pm
Study skills
Fact or opinion?
The following is taken from M150, pages 15 - 16 of Unit 1 (Data and information: an introduction). This makes reference to Van Eyck's Arnolfini portrait.
"...the inclusion of the dog in the foreground symbolises domestic fidelity, and the convex mirror in the background symbolises the observing eye of God, keeping watch over the couple."
You might like to consider the following questions:
- Are these facts or opinions?
- If these are facts, what evidence is there to verify them?
- If this is an opinion, is this claim being made by the author, or someone else?
- Are there any references that can used to verify these claims?
A search in Google unearths a number
of sources (see below) and can be used to write something to support or
counter an assertion. For example:
The word fido means "I trust in" and is derived from the latin
fidelis meaning faithful. It is the origin of the common name given to
a dog. This would support the view that the dog symbolises fidelity. However,
art historian Craig Harbison has argued that the dog symbolises lust and
underscores the desire of the couple to have a baby.
Does the mirror symbolise "the eye of God?". I will leave you with this quote from the painter Barnett Newman who said, "Art history is for artists, as ornithology is for the birds".
References:
Van Eyck at the National Gallery, London