'Arnolfini's Best Mans Blunder' serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of Northern Renaissance wedding planning. The subject is Giovanni Arnolfini’s Best Man and he stands outside a modern barber shop just hours before the historic ceremony.
The scene captures the moment of "The Blunder." The subject had popped-in for a quick trim to look presentable for the background mirror in the wedding portrait. Instead, the barber misunderstood the assignment, leaving him with an ultra-modern skin fade that would clash violently with 15th-century Flemish etiquette.
The subject glares directly out of the frame, accusing the viewer—and the universe—of allowing this tragedy to happen. He has hastily wrapped his head in 40 yards of red chaperon fabric to hide the damage, creating the iconic "turban" shape out of sheer desperation and providing Van Eyck with the subject for another masterpiece.