The revered painting's new setting was unveiled on Thursday in the presence of the Flemish Prime Minister and the Bishop of Ghent. It now takes pride of place in the larger space of the cathedral's Sacrament Chapel, having previously been housed in its Vijd and Villa Chapels. A bespoke glass case has been designed to house the polyptych, which consists of 12 panels, in optimum climatic conditions.
Last year the 15th Century painting made headlines when restoration work performed on its central panel revealed its Lamb of God to have a "human-like" face. The new visitor centre forms part of a number of Van Eyck-related events in Ghent this year that were postponed in due to the Covid pandemic. It is epic in every sense: a double-sided, panel oil painting celebrating the majesty of God the Father and telling the story of Christ's sacrifice, which, when fully extended the panels are on hinges and can be opened and closed measures approximately 3.
Dedicated on May 6, in the Church of Saint John, Ghent now the Cathedral of Saint Bavo , the work was installed above an altar in a chantry chapel founded by the wealthy patrician Joos Vijd and his wife Elizabeth Borluut.
The astonishing realism of the altarpiece rests not only in the fidelity with which figures, plants , and animals are represented in a convincing space, but also in its ability to forge a sense of continuity between the pictorial and the real world. On the lower level, the technique of grisaille is used to depict fictive statues of the two Saints John, possibly as a painterly challenge to the long-established convention of sculpted retables. More astonishing still are the near-lifesize nudes of Adam and Eve on the interior, who appear to project out of the depths of their niches into real space.
Rather, the work stands on its own as a visual account of the redemptive mysteries of the Catholic faith, beginning with the incarnation of Christ at the moment of the Annunciation represented on the exterior. Are you anxious to find out who exactly was van Eyck, or how he influenced painters today?
Discover the stories on these pages! Tickets up to 15 minutes before closing time. Sint-Baafsplein Gent Belgium. It is an absolute must-see on your weekend break to Ghent. A total of 18 panels form a magical evocation of scenes from the Bible, as well as a portrait of the church warden, Joos Vijd, who commissioned the altarpiece, and his wife Elisabeth Borluut.
Inner glow, microscopic craftsmanship. Online ticketing Ghent Altarpiece To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the number of visitors is limited and it is advisable to book a ticket in advance. Simply view the Mystic Lamb masterpiece in detail online. Admire the work of art at close range and zoom in on all the details. Religious art by the Van Eyck brothers in Ghent. Daring theft of panels of the Ghent Altarpiece. The disappearance of the Just Judges panel The art theft of the century.
The Ghent Altarpiece: devoted restoration. Dismantled, stolen, and damaged many times over, it was reassembled, cleaned, and restored after World War II. Despite this harrowing past, today scholars and art lovers around the world are only a click away from freely exploring over billion pixels of the altarpiece online, thanks to a series of grants provided by the Getty Foundation as part of the Panel Paintings Initiative.
Assembly of digital macrophotographs showing detail from the Ghent Altarpiece. Getty support began in with a thorough condition assessment and emergency stabilization of the altarpiece that involved the training of postgraduate and mid-career conservators under the supervision of leading panel paintings experts.
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