PENA - Surname Origin, Meaning and Famous Penas

Individuals with the Peà ±a surname may have originally lived near a cliff, large rock, or rocky land, The surname  derives from the Spanish word peà ±a, meaning rock, crag or cliff.  The name is especially common  in Galicia, Leà ³n, and Castile, Spain. Peà ±a is the 42nd most common Hispanic surname. Surname Origin:  Spanish Alternate Surname Spellings: PINA, PINILLA, PENNETTA, PENNAZZI Famous People with the Surname PENA Enrique Peà ±a Nieto - Mexican lawyer and politician; president of MexicoPaco Peà ±a - Spanish flamenco guitarist and composerMichael Pena - American actor Genealogy Resources for the Surname PENA 50 Common Hispanic Surnames Their MeaningsGarcia, Martinez, Rodriguez, Lopez, Hernandez... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 50 common Hispanic last names? The PENA DNA ProjectThis Y-DNA and mtDNA project is open to all families with the Pena surname, of all spelling variations and all locations. Use DNA to connect and work together to discover your common Pena ancestors.   PENA Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Pena surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Pena query. FamilySearch - PENA GenealogyFind records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Pena surname and its variations. PENA Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Pena surname. DistantCousin.com - PENA Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name Pena. -- Looking for the meaning of a given name? Check out First Name Meanings -- Cant find your last name listed? Suggest a surname to be added to the Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins. ----------------------- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back to Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins

Should The Minimum Wage Increase Essay - 1797 Words

Voting yes for initiative 1433 will increase the minimum wage statewide to $13.50 within 4 years. The minimum wage will increase about .50 ¢ a year starting from $11 in the year 2017 going up to $13.50 in 2020. A minimum wage is the lowest amount of money your employer is allowed to pay their employees; currently, Washington’s minimum wage is $9.47. When it comes to the topic of the minimum wage increase, Seattle is commonly mentioned because they recently increased their wage to $15. Most of us can agree that it has caused a lot of benefits for the city of Seattle. Whereas some are convinced that the increase was a terrible idea and, many residents will lose their jobs/houses due to the increase in pay, business will shut down and the economy will fall apart. I believe their information is incorrect and initiative 1433 will be positive for Washington’s economy. In this paper, I will prove that Seattle delivered phenomenal results and i-1433 is a good idea if a city c an do this, a state can too. A higher minimum wage is important because it reduces poverty since we will have more people working. Minimum wage reduces welfare since some people will be able to work and pay for whatever the government was supplying them of. A wage sets an equal pay for starting workers. A lot of people work at a minimum for instance people who opted out of school or people who could not afford higher education, teens who are paying for their own belongings as in books, rent, food, clothes, andShow MoreRelatedShould Minimum Wage Be Increase?996 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Should minimum wage be increase to $15 an hour? That seems to be the million dollar question. Minimum wage is the lowest wage an employee can receive for working. Minimum wage is a contract or legislation by the government or legal authority. How would the increase in minimum wage impact the economy? Summary According to, a news article in the Star Phoenix called â€Å"Pros and cons of a minimum wage increase hourly† (Tyndall, 2015). Tyndall states that, minimum wage is basically the lowestRead MoreAmerica Should Increase The Minimum Wage1117 Words   |  5 Pagesor not America should increase the minimum wage. This is an issue that has been arising to be relevant to people all over the nation. Researches have provided logical facts and statistics on how increasing the minimum wage would be the solution to America’s debt. Increasing the minimum wage has also been successful in several countries including Germany. Studies have shown that decreasing the minimum wage is unlikely to solve any economic woes. While when we increase the minimum wage it benefits theRead MoreMinimum Wage Should Increase Unemployment996 Words   |  4 Pageswho represents the people, you should raise minimum wage. It is all about the people, and making society a better place. Theoretically, minimum wage should decrease unemployment, close racial gaps, enable families to take care of basic necessities, and would somehow make the world a better place. However, theories are ideas, intended to explain a situation; they are not facts, they are not constant, and they can be wishful thinking. Therefore, an increase in minimum wage does not ensure these privilegesRead MoreShould We Increase Minimum Wage?1508 Words   |  6 PagesThe topic on whether the minimum wage should be increased our untouched has been a hot topic in the media and political scene lately. Both the republicans and democrats have spent some big bucks lobbying their insights on the matter. There has been a lot of subjective and objective arguments that are reasonable on both the pros and cons of increasing our national minimum wage. To add to the drama associated with this topic, President Obama endorsed a bill proposing a nearly 40% rise from $7.25 toRead MoreEssay We Should NOT Increase the Minimum Wage1754 Wor ds   |  8 Pagesworking. Should it be mainly focused on providing the basic necessities for our families? Or should we trade off enjoying our job to bet better able to support our family? We all want to provide our families a decent standard of living. What is our second goal? Our second goal is likely the desire, and ability to enjoy our job. The reason we should care about this is we are spending forty hours a week at our workplace. I am to researching this topic to see if the minimum waged should be raisedRead MoreRaising The Minimum Wage Should Not Increase The Value Of The Worker s Labor1280 Words   |  6 PagesRaising the minimum wage does not increase the value of the worker s labor. It increases the cost of the worker s labor. And as everyone knows, the more something costs, the less of it we buy...† (Antony Davies, PhD, Associate Professor of Economics at Duquesne University, and James R. Harrigan, PhD, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Political Economy at Ut ah State University). In this day and age, the federal minimum wage is a very prevalent topic among Americans. Should it be raised? Or willRead Moreminimum wage1601 Words   |  7 Pagesgood news for the low-income workers and their families whenever the government increases the minimum wage. The United States Congress adopted the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938. Congress created the minimum wage toward the end of the Depression era to ensure a minimum standard oPremium 2048 Words 9 Pages Macroeconomics: Should the Minimum Wage Increase? Should the Minimum Wage Increase? Minimum wage is the lowest wage permitted by law or by a special agreement that can be applied for an employeeRead MoreShould Minimum Wage Be Increased?1691 Words   |  7 PagesShould Minimum Wage be Increased? Introduction The term, â€Å"minimum wage† refers to a lowest payment that an employer is bound to pay to its workers. Today minimum wage is made compulsory in more than ninety percent of nations including Canada where workers are demanding to increase minimum wages for a long time. Minimum wages are revised by governments in order to met growing needs of workers. There is a difference of opinion on the issue of increasing minimum wages among people of Canada. EmployersRead MoreRaising the Minimum Wage: A Counter-Intuitive Solution Essay753 Words   |  4 PagesWhile some believe that raising the minimum wage will resolve poverty issues and lack of pay with the signing of legislation, the raising of the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour (as advocated by President Obama and the Democrats) would cause the poverty issue to be worse than it already is; inflation would occur, employees would be laid off, and minimum wage employees would lose welfare benefits, thus offsetting the wage increase. Th e Government should consider the effects on the American economy asRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Minimum Wage In Taiwan1541 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Nowadays, minimum wage is very important for workers in this world. In addition, minimum wage is also a core element of public policy in lots of countries. For example, minimum wage has become a hot topic in Taiwan recently. The Taiwanese complained that the working hours are too long, and the wages are too low. Because of that reason, workers in Taiwan have come forward to protest this policy. Therefore, according to this example, minimum wage has become an issue that cannot be ignored

Securing the Computer Networks Trojan Attacks

Question: 1. Describe approaches to computer security including access control, identity verification and authentication in order to minimize the cyber attacks on a system. 2. Apply the appropriate use of tools to facilitate network security to prevent various types of computer and network attacks, and malicious software that exists. Answer: Introduction Today millions of people are using the internet as a way to do transactions, companies using it as a medium to conduct and manage business. Therefore it can be said that, huge amount of money are transferred via internet. With this increasing day to day transactions the risk of cyber attacks are also increasing. These huge amount of money gets transferred either as the part of bank transactions or as a result of the consumer product purchases. There are different ways in which this financial information can be stolen by the hackers using the malwares, viruss warms and many other cybercrime tools (Mulliner et al. 2013). Therefore it is important for the users as well as the network administrator to protect the work stations inside the network from the different intruders. The information security can be defined as the controlling the unauthorized accedes or the alteration of the information. According to the Bhunia et al. (2014), in the present day the threats are used to gain the control over a system and to block the access of the actual user. Moreover, the attackers also use this control on the system to have some financial gain or intellectual property. The following report focuses on the attack of a Trojan horse on an organization, the approaches that are taken to minimize the effect and scope of penetration to the same network (Kalige, Burkey and Director 2012). Moreover, the report also focuses on the different counter measures to protect the network from the future attacks. Overview of the Scenario The most common attacks are mainly unstructured threats. The following case study is about a Trojan attacks on a network. These attacks are intended to steal information like the passwords, email correspondence and other user credentials (Fedler, Kulicke and Schtte. 2013). The same happened with a real estate agency in Newcastle. The Trojan attack deleted, modified and copied the confidential data without the consent of actual user. Moreover this malwares are responsible for the disruption in the performance of the work stations that resides inside a network of that agency (Acharya, Dutta and Bhoi 2013). As an example it can be said that, may be user or a employee downloaded a file that seems to be a movie or a mp3 file, but when the users clicks on the program or file it unleashes a program or executable that erases the whole data on the disk, sends the credentials to the hacker. Basic Network Diagram In the home network there is a firewall that filters the different viruses and worms that try to intrude inside the network. More over there is a laptop, PC, data storage, printer and a wireless device (the smart phone). Figure 1: Basic home network (Source: Created using Visio) Identification and level work station and the network components of the diagram In the above depicted diagram some of the devices that are connected with the home network station are discussed below: Firewall: It mainly helps in doing both the monitoring and controlling of both incoming as well as outgoing network traffics that are mainly based on prearranged security protocols. Router: Router is mainly one of the network devices that transfer data packets among the computer networks. In addition, router also undertakes the duties of traffic directing functions over the internet. Fedler, Kulicke and Schtte (2013) discussed that data packet which typically forwarded through networks consists the types of internetwork until in delivered to the destination node. Level workstation: In level workstation, it mainly consists of database, PDA and virtual PC that are connected. Other devices: Some of the other devices include tablet devices; PCs, Laptops, printer etc are mainly connected with the whole network diagram. In the above network diagram the devices like the laptops and the Smartphone devices are mainly affected by the Trojan attack. Explanation of Current Access Control The existing access controls mechanisms are role based access control methods, mandatory access control and discretionary access control. Role based access control: In case of the role based access control, the access of an individual to some information and resource are allowed or restricted by the different banks according to their role in the organization (Mulliner et al. 2013). Mandatory access control: In this access control method, every user in the banks network, resources are classified and assigned with a security label by the operating system (Bhunia et al. 2014). Moreover in this model the users are not the decision makers about the accessibility of their created files at the banks. The users do not decide who can access their files. The rules are created and modified by the security officer or the network administrator. Discretionary access control: As the name suggests, the accessibility of the different files or resources of the different banks are decided according to the users discretion (Golchha,Deshmukh and Lunia 2014). The owner of the resource can allow or restrict the access of the other users to their files or resources. Different verification authentication measures: The existing authentication and verification methods are discussed below, Network access authentication: In this type of authentication method, the user has to authenticate them every time the user tries to access any of the network services. Logon authentication: In this authentication system, the user must be authenticated in order to enter in the network (Fedler et al. 2013). This can be done by entering a pin, by using a smart card or by using their fingerprint. In addition to the above techniques, the group policy and the passwords policies are also enforced in the organization to protect the work stations and the network devices from the malwares specifically from the Trojans. Description of the IT Security Information Steps in a Trojan attack: The following section provides a detailed description about the steps in the Trojan based malware attacks, Step1: In this step the users of the apps of the different banks unknowingly clicks on a malicious link or opens a Phising mail and the Trojan gets downloaded on their devices (Bhunia et al. 2014). In the next phase the program or the Trojan waits for the user to login into their respective user accounts. Step 2: Here, when the users log in to their user account through the banks app, the Trojan intercepts the session of the user and inserts a JavaScript into the users login page of the app. The next time, users log into its system or device the injected file produces some kind of security upgrade alerts and instructs the users to follow some certain steps to install the upgrade (Acharya et al. 2013). In the next steps user is asked to enter the personal as well as financial data to get the upgrade. Step3: The Trojan delivers the whole personal and financial data from the users device to the attacker at the remote site (Bhunia et al. 2014). This information is further used in the future attacks. Step 4: In this step after getting the users personal and individual information of the banks customers, the virus itself or the attacker sends mail or SMS to the user asking them to complete the upgrade process. Moreover, in some cases the users asked to click on an attached link with in the mail or the SMS (Mulliner et al. 2013). Also in some cases the hacked devices are controlled by the remote hacker. After clicking on the given link in the SMS, the mobile devices or the workstations gets infected by the Trojan. After clicking on the provided link the users workstations gets infected and the remote hacker can get the information of the further activities of the users gets transferred to the hacker. Description of Steps to Minimize the Avenues of Trojan Based Attack To minimize the avenues of the Trojan attacks some preventive measures can be taken. 1) First of all it is to be ensured that all patches for the operating system, antivirus programs and applications are installed (Fedler et al. 2013). Many security problems or the attacks that occurs for viruses and worms, mainly exploits the known vulnerabilities of the softwares, for which patches exist. Therefore installing the latest patches for the applications can help in minimizing the probability of the attack. 2) In the second step that can be used is to limit the services that are running on the system (Bhunia et al. 2014). This in turn reduces the number of patches that needs to be installed. 3) Another way to minimize the chances of the attack is to restrict the availability of the information about the resources and processes outside the organization. Since the hackers or the attackers are mainly after the information and try to get the organizational information. Approaches for workstation and network level security In order to secure the workstations from the Trojan attacks, the antimalware programs are used so that they can detect and defend the systems from the Trojans. Moreover full back up of the data of workstations is to be done on a regular basis (Bhunia et al. 2014). The best way to clean an infected file is to replace it with an original non-infected file. The web browsers are not allowed to execute programs automatically or to download files from internet. For the network level security the gateway virus scanning system is implemented in the network (Acharya et al. 2013). Since all the source codes of the major Trojans are publically available, and if a new kind of virus tries to attack the network it can be only prevented by using an executable scanner. List of major security problems of the network List 3 security problems and Their Infiltration DNS Tunneling: The use of the botnets in the brute force attack technique is also used in Trojan attacks. DNS is used as a covert communication in terms of bypass the firewall security in the server. Through it, attackers is able to tunnel the other protocols such as TCP, SSH, etc. Through DNS tunneling attackers can tunnel the data infiltration in the network. Following diagram show the same Figure 2: DNS Tunneling (Created By Author) Cache Poisoning: Hackers or attackers consistently updates and releases new threats and exploits the flaws of the different application and system softwares (Kalige, Burkey and Director 2012). These pitfalls can cause harm to the network if the latest released patches are not in place. If the latest patches are not used in the laptop, computer or to the smart phone devices then they became easy targets of the attackers. Herzberg and Shulman (2013) argued that it is the corruption of DNS cache data. Through cache poisoning, attackers can theft the credential information like log in details, credit card numbers, etc. Following diagram is showing the process of Cache Poisoning Attack Figure 3: Cache Poisoning (Created By Author) TCP SYN Floods: This technology allows the attackers to stop the server and helps in making new connection requests where they can legitimate the information of users. This technology uses 3-way handshake that begins with TCP connection (Kolahi et al. 2014). Hackers send to user the spoofed SYN packets including IP address of a bogus destination. Figure 4: TCP SYN Floods (Created By Author) Analysis and Presentation of Solution Counter measures to protect the network for 3 identified problems In order to protect the network from the Trojan attacks the network administrator needs to create the complex passwords so that they cannot be guessed or tracked easily (Acharya et al. 2013). Also it is advised that the users should take care of the different programs that run at the start up computer. Because the Trojans like the Rootkits are mainly used to corrupt the boot sector of the storage device (Mulliner et al. 2013). On the other hand the different applications must be patched as soon as the companies release the patches for its products. Prevention= Prevention+ (Detection+ Response) Firewalls Audit log Backups Encryption Intrusion detection system Incidents response teams Honey pots Computer forensics Explanation of the security principle The security principle to protect the networks is principle of least privilege. The principle of least privilege states that, the users have the least amount of privilege to perform and complete the business processes (Bhunia et al. 2014). Moreover, when a new feature is added to the applications then it adds some certain risks to the overall system too. Therefore for the development of the application must be done using the secure development methodology. It helps to reduce the total attack surface area. Prevent the cyber attacks and frauds, it is important to separate the different duties and responsibilities of the different users (Wei and Potkonjak 2012). Therefore, it can be said that the network administrator cannot be the user of the application. Summary of the approaches taken to protect the network Since the threat of the cyber attacks or particularly the Trojan attacks are increasing day by day. Different measures are taken to counter these attacks like, access control mechanisms, minimizing the different avenues of attack (Bhunia et al. 2014). In addition to that to protect the network at the workstation level as well as on the network level some measures are also taken this measures includes the backing up the whole data of the system, control over the web. Lessons learnt From the case study it is learnt that, even though the apps for the banks are intended to provide convenience to its customer, but the due to the unsecured use of the apps the attacker was successful in injecting the Trojans in the users device to steal financial as well as personal information and huge amount of money is robbed from the banks. Therefore the users and the bank officials should use the apps and the information of the banks in a secured environment. It will be helpful in protecting the data from the breach and attacks. Moreover, to protect the data of the bank as well as the customers should use the firewall and anti viruses in its computer networks. Conclusion Trojans are malicious software that pretends to be something desirable and necessary, but they are more dangerous than viruses and worms. This Trojan may steal the users data, damage and even erase the users disk. There are different programs that can open sockets or automatically run a program at the time of start up of the workstations. Therefore the users have to control the access of the Trojan in the network. Moreover, the detection and the prevention mechanisms need to be updated periodically so that the new threats can be detected and stopped before it infiltrate into the network. References Acharya, H.S., Dutta, S.R. and Bhoi, R., 2013. Network and Information Security Issues.International Journal of Innovative Research and Development|| ISSN 22780211,2(2), pp.400-406. Bhunia, S., Hsiao, M.S., Banga, M. and Narasimhan, S., 2014. Hardware Trojan attacks: threat analysis and countermeasures.Proceedings of the IEEE,102(8), pp.1229-1247. Fedler, R., Kulicke, M. and Schtte, J., 2013, November. Native code execution control for attack mitigation on android. InProceedings of the Third ACM workshop on Security and privacy in smartphones mobile devices(pp. 15-20). ACM. Ghai, S. and Verma, A., 2015. Network Security Using Divergent Firewall Technologies.IITM Journal of Information Technology,1, p.29. Golchha, P., Deshmukh, R. and Lunia, P., 2014. A Review on Network Security Threats and Solutions. Henson, M.J., 2014.Attack Mitigation through Memory Encryption A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty(Doctoral dissertation, Dartmouth College Hanover, New Hampshire). Herzberg, A. and Shulman, H., 2013, December. Socket overloading for fun and cache-poisoning. InProceedings of the 29th Annual Computer Security Applications Conference(pp. 189-198). ACM. Kalige, E., Burkey, D. and Director, I.P.S., 2012. A case study of eurograbber: How 36 million euros was stolen via malware.Versafe (White paper). Kolahi, S., Alghalbi, A.A., Alotaibi, A.F., Ahmed, S.S. and Lad, D., 2014. Performance Comparison of Defense Mechanisms Against TCP SYN Flood Cyber Attack. Liu, C., Cronin, P. and Yang, C., 2016, January. A mutual auditing framework to protect IoT against hardware Trojans. In2016 21st Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference (ASP-DAC)(pp. 69-74). IEEE. Lucamarini, M., Choi, I., Ward, M.B., Dynes, J.F., Yuan, Z.L. and Shields, A.J., 2015. Practical security bounds against the Trojan-horse attack in quantum key distribution.Physical Review X,5(3), p.031030. Lucamarini, M., Choi, I., Ward, M.B., Dynes, J.F., Yuan, Z.L. and Shields, A.J., 2015. Practical security bounds against the Trojan-horse attack in quantum key distribution.Physical Review X,5(3), p.031030. Mulliner, C., Borgaonkar, R., Stewin, P. and Seifert, J.P., 2013, July. SMS-based one-time passwords: attacks and defense. InInternational Conference on Detection of Intrusions and Malware, and Vulnerability Assessment(pp. 150-159). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Tenenboim-Chekina, L., Barad, O., Shabtai, A., Mimran, D., Rokach, L., Shapira, B. and Elovici, Y., 2013, April. Detecting application update attack on mobile devices through network featur. InComputer Communications Workshops (INFOCOM WKSHPS), 2013 IEEE Conference on(pp. 91-92). IEEE. VukoviĆ¡, O., Dn, G. and Karlsson, G., 2014. Mitigating Gray Hole Attacks in Industrial Communications using Anonymity Networks: Relationship Anonymity-Communication Overhead Trade-off. Wehbe, T., Mooney, V.J., Keezer, D.C. and Parham, N.B., 2015, October. A Novel Approach to Detect Hardware Trojan Attacks on Primary Data Inputs. InProceedings of the WESS'15: Workshop on Embedded Systems Security(p. 2). ACM. Wei, S. and Potkonjak, M., 2012, April. Wireless security techniques for coordinated manufacturing and on-line hardware trojan detection. InProceedings of the fifth ACM conference on Security and Privacy in Wireless and Mobile Networks(pp. 161-172). ACM. Xue, M., Wang, J., Wang, Y. and Hu, A., 2015, August. Security Against Hardware Trojan Attacks Through a Novel Chaos FSM and Delay Chains Array PUF Based Design Obfuscation Scheme. InInternational Conference on Cloud Computing and Security(pp. 14-24). Springer International Publishing.

The Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation Essay Example

The Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation Paper Choosing three pieces of artwork for an exhibit is an exercise in itself. However, I am faced with this duty. So, being naturally inquisitive, I was taken by the allure of the mysterious Jan Van Eyck. Thus, I decided to devote all my attention on him, choosing three of his pieces. The pieces I chose are the Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation. The information Ill provide about each piece would be set by the paintings in an exhibit. Although slightly long-winded, I hope the information provided would encourage the same interest I have gained in Jan Van Eyck. Also, I would simply use the title of this paper at the entrance. Jan Van Eyck has a controversial background. His life is rather a mystery to art historians. There are a few things however, that have been accepted as the truth. Van Eyck was born around 1390 and died in 1441. He was a Flemish painter, active in Brugge (Bruges). He and Robert Campin founded Ars Nova (new art) of 15th-century northern late Gothic painting, which brought about the Renaissance in northern Europe (MS Encarta). It is thought that Van Eyck came from Maaseik (in the province of Lind Bourg). From 1422-1424, Van Eyck was employed at the court of John of Bavaria, count of Holland, at the Hauge. In 1425 Phillip the Good appointed him court painter. He remained court painter for the rest of his life and became quite close to Philip the Good (MS Encarta). Otherwise, in ducal circles, Van Eyck seems to have been employed decorating castles and contributing to ephemeral displays, such as floats for ducal processions and food designs for banquets. (Harbison) We will write a custom essay sample on The Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Arnolfini Marriage, the Ghent Altarpiece, and The Annunciation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The painting that inspired American Gothic, The Arnolfini Marriage, is an oil painting on wood. The story behind it is not a simple one. The major school of thought as to why this painting was done is that it acted as a sort of marriage certificate; hence the name. Giovanni Arnolfini was a merchant who married in Bruges in 1434, the year the painting was done. Their solemn, young faces are typical of Van Eycks work. The Arnolfini Marriage is oil on wood. This piece is 2 8 x 1 11 (Pioch, Web Museum). Also Typical of Van Eycks work, and exemplified in this piece, is intuitive perspective. Van Eyck did not use a ruler or draw a vanishing point; he simply eye-balled the angle at which lines should flow. This can be noted by following the line created by the top of the bed as compared to that of the windows. There are a few symbolic things that need to be mentioned about the Arnolfini Marriage. One is a candle, another is the mirror in the background, the image of St. Margaret carved into a chair back, and the last is Van Eycks own signature. Generally the candle is accepted to be a bridal candle. However, there are other possibilities such as Gods all-seeing eye, or simply a devotional candle. (Pioch, Web Museum) Another symbol is St Margaret (the patron saint of women in childbirth), whose image is carved on the high chair back. (Pioch, Web Museum) It should be mentioned that Giovanna Cenami, the woman in the Arnofini Marriage, is portrayed with a large amount of cloth in her hand. The gathering of cloth around her stomach makes her appear to be pregnant. This also may allude to the prospect of children during the marriage (just as the image of St. Margaret does). In the background of the Arnolfini Marriage is a mirror painted in amazing detail, especially for its size. The reflection in the mirror includes not only the backs of the newly married Arnolfinis, but also the reflection of two on-lookers. One of the on-lookers is wearing a red hat. The man in the red hat is a recurring theme among pieces attributed to Van Eyck; and is accepted to be Van Eyck himself. The other person is thought to be some sort of official witness to the ceremony, or the conductor of it. Around the mirror, painted to appear engraved in its frame, are the ten Stations of the Cross. The Stations of the Cross are parts of Christs life/death. The last symbolic detail is Van Eycks signature on the painting. The signature has just as intricate detail as the mirror, and is directly above it on the wall. It is unlikely the writing on the wall was actually there. It is thought to be a detail meant to attribute the painting to himself without interrupting it. Above the mirror is written extremely small yet clearly Johannes de eyck fuit hic 1434 (Jan Van Eyck was here, 1434). Normally a work of art in the fifteenth century would have been signed, Jan Van Eyck made this. The wording here specifically refers to a witness to a legal document. (Stokstad, 628) There are also a few symbols of faith. In the painting is a dog between the Arnolfinis feet. Dogs are considered faithful companions. On the window ledge there is fruit that could symbolize fertility and the fall from Paradise in the Bible. Also the shoes by Giovanni Arnolfinis feet are thought to allude to the sanctity of marriage. (Pioch, Web Museum) The next piece I find very interesting, and hope many others will too, is the Ghent Altarpiece. The Ghent Altarpiece is Van Eycks earliest known work (Stokstad, 626). This painting is made with oil on panel and extremely large. Finished in 1432, the altarpiece was roughly 11.5 x 7.5 closed and 11.5 x 15 open. The altarpiece is rather difficult to describe. That is because it opens twice to show two separate scenes, with one set of inner wings. I will explain the piece in sections beginning with the outer, or closed, section. The altarpiece remained closed at all times, with one exception Easter. When closed the altarpiece had a much more toned down appearance than the bright extravagance within. The altarpiece, when closed was divided into twelve sections. The two lowest center sections are St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist painted to appear as statues. Beside them are the donor and his wife; the donor was a wealthy official in Ghent. Above, the wing exteriors show Gabriel and the Virgin looking out on an old city from opposite sides of a room (Stokstad, 626), this scene includes four panels. At the top of the closed altarpiece, involving four sections, are ancient sibyls (female prophets) and Old Testament prophets who foretold the coming of Christ. The open altarpiece was also divided into twelve sections. This section would be shown only on the feast of days, Easter. The opened altarpiece was much more vivid in color and lively than its outer companion. The largest section, in the bottom center, is dedicated to the Adoration of the Lamb. Also referred to as the Communion of Saints, the Lamb symbolizes Christ and is surrounded by many believers. Directly above the Communion of Saints are three sections. The center section is the figure of God enthroned. On the right side of Him sits John the Baptist and on the left sits the Virgin Mary. John the Baptist and the Virgin are surrounded on each side by angel musicians (Stokstad, 612). Wings on either side of the angels open to reveal Adam and Eve. Looking solemn, Eve stands holding the core of an apple, the forbidden fruit, which she has eaten. Adam and Eve are covering themselves because according to the bible, only after Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit did they know they were n aked. They are hiding themselves in shame. The life of this piece is quite interesting. It has survived more than five centuries. At one point in the sixteenth century, when political struggles were rampant, the paintings were removed from their frames and hidden in a church more than once. Later, as a means of protection, the panels were separated and moved to different places. In 1894 Berlin royals had the six small panels split so both sides could be seen. After the First World War, it was put back together in Ghent, but someone stole two panels. Only one panel was found; the other is now a copy. During the Second World War the panels were moved around again. Then in the 1950s, it was finally put back together one last time in Ghent (Stokstad, 612). The third and last piece I chose for a gallery show is The Annunciation. Completed in 1436, this piece was originally painted in oil on panel and was later transferred to canvas. Its name explains what is occurring in the painting. The Annunciation was when the Angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary she was going to bear the Son of God, Jesus Christ. The Angel and the Virgin are shown with golden letters flowing from their lips. The letters form the Latin equivalent of Hail, full of grace and Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord, spoken by Gabriel and the Virgin, respectively. As in all of Van Eycks work there are many symbolic points in this painting. A dove above the Virgin and Gabriel symbolizes the Holy Spirit. A stained glass window of God (surrounded on either side by two wall paintings of Moses) is parallel to three windows enclosing Mary. The three windows represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The juxtaposition of the three windows to the stained glass one represents the coming of a new era. White lilies in a vase by her feet symbolize Mary. The floor tiles are decorated with signs of the zodiac that indicate the date of Annunciation (March 25). Lastly, the placement of the figures in a new church suggests that Mary is the new Christian Church (Stokstad, 18-19). During the Middle Ages, the Church was the most powerful entity in Europe. The Church even had a great amount of say over political decisions. The religious art of the fifteenth century mirrored the political, social, and economic power of the Church. (Harbison) Each of the three paintings described in this painting contain religious references. In the Arnolfini Marriage there is the candle, and St. Margaret on the chair back. The entire Ghent Altarpiece is a religious painting. In the Annunciation, another entirely religious work, there is not only Gabriel and the Virgin but the windows as well. The reason behind the religious references is not only to show the power of Church, but too reawaken faith among people at a time when it was beginning to falter. Come visit the gallery to learn more on the life and works of the mysterious Flemish painter, Jan Van Eyck. In the gallery you will see The Arnolfini Marriage, The Annunciation, and the Ghent Altarpiece (with a room of its own), up close and personal. Our guides will assist you in finding all of the symbolic points I mentioned earlier as well as explaining some of Van Eycks life during the time these pieces were made. The Gallery de la Sol is located at on the north corner of 124th and Broadway in Manhattan. Lastly, in the Gallery, B. Dalton bookstore will be selling books about Van Eyck and some of his peers. If you are interested in Jan Van Eyck but cannot attend or if you would like to find out more try reading about him. Here are some books I recommend: Jan Van Eyck: The Play of Realism, by Craig Harbison, Jan Van Eycks Arnolfini Portrait: Stories of an ICON, by Linda Seidel, and All the Paintings of Jan Van Eyck, by Denis Valentino.