According to art historian Clara Erskine Clement "Jan van Eyck was something of a diplomat as well as a painter, for when he was in the service of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, he was sent on several secret missions, and in 1428 he accompanied the ambassadors of the duke to Portugal in order to paint the portrait of Isabella of Portugal, who was betrothed to the duke. There is a goodly number of works by Jan van Eyck in various galleries. The portrait of himself and wife in the National Gallery, London, is very interesting; they stand hand in hand, with a terrier dog at their feet; their dress and all the details of their surroundings are painted with great care. It is said that the Princess Mary, sister of Charles V., gave a barber who owned it a position with a handsome salary in exchange for the picture. Jan van Eyck, being twenty years younger than his brother Hubert, naturally learned all that the elder knew, and the story of his life gives him the appearance of being the more important artist, though in point of highest merit he was not the superior."

The prevailing characteristic of Van Eyck's work being slender, supple grace. In his Arnolfini Portrait panel, The couple are  noble and dignified, but temperate and gracious. The palette is lush, characterized by warm hues of brown, powerful reds, moss greens, gauzy yellows and muted grays. Like all great painters of his day an Van Eyck was a master of Biblical symbolism. William H. Hunt asserted "When language was not transcendental enough to complete the meaning of a revelation, symbols were relied upon for heavenly teaching, and familiar images, chosen from the known, were made to mirror the unknown spiritual truth." Van Eyck explored in his own art a new world of mathematically precise perspective but also emotion and passion. He was drawn to both the natural and spiritual realm.