 Van Eyck used the technique of applying several layers of thin translucent glazes to create a painting with an intensity of both tone and colour.The glowing colours also help to highlight the realism, and to show the material wealth and opulence of Arnolfini's world.Van Eyck took advantage of the longer drying time of oil paint, compared to tempera, to blend colours by painting wet-in-wet to achieve subtle variations in light and shade to heighten the illusion of three-dimensional forms.