Ghent Altarpiece

8/9/2019 Ghent Altarpiece

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Ghent Altarpiece

Open view; when opened the altarpiece measures 11ft x 15ft

(3.5m x 4.6m).

Closed view, back panels.

The Ghent Altarpiece (also called the Adoration of theMystic Lamb or The Lamb of God, Dutch: Het Lam

Gods) is a very large and complex early 15th centuryEarly Flemish polyptych panel painting. The altarpiece iscomposed of 12 panels, eight of which are hinged shut-

ters. The wings are painted on both sides, giving two dis-tinct views depending on whether they are open or closed.Outside of Sundays and festive holidays, the outer wingswere closed and often covered with cloth. It was com-missioned from Hubert van Eyck, about whom little isknown. He was most likely responsible for the overall de-sign, but died in 1426. It seems to have been principallyexecuted and completed by his younger and better knownbrother Jan van Eyck between 1430 and 1432.[1] Al-though there have been extensive attempts over the cen-

turies to isolate the passages attributable to either brother,no separation has been convincingly established. Today,most accept that the work was probably designed and con-structed by Hubert and that the individual panels werepainted by Jan after his return from diplomatic duties inSpain.

The altarpiece was commissioned by the merchant, fi-nancier and politician, Jodocus Vyd, then holding a posi-tion in Ghent similar to city mayor. It was designed forthe chapel he and his wife acted as benefactors for, today’sSaint Bavo Cathedral, at the time the parochial church ofJohn the Baptist, protectorate to the city. It was officially

installed on 6 May 1432 to coincide with an official cer-emony for Philip the Good. It was later moved for secu-rity reasons to the principal cathedral chapel, where it re-mains. While indebted to the International Gothic as wellas both Byzantine and Romanic traditions, the altarpiecerepresented a “new conception of art”, in which the ideal-ization of the medieval tradition gave way to an exactingobservation of nature[2] and unidealised human represen-tation. A now lost inscription on the frame stated that Hu-bert van Eyck maior quo nemo repertus (greater than any-one) started the altarpiece, but that Jan van Eyck – callinghimself arte secundus (second best in the art) – completedit in 1432.[3] The original, very ornate carved outer frame

and surround, presumably harmonizing with the paintedtracery, was destroyed during the Reformation; there hasbeen speculation that it may have included clockworkmechanisms for moving the shutters and even playingmusic.[4]

The outer panels contain two vertically stacked regis-ters (rows). The upper rows show scenes from theAnnunciation of Mary. The four lower-register panels aredivided into two pairs; sculptural grisaille paintings of StJohn the Baptist and St John the Evangelist, and on thetwo outer panels, donor portraits of Joost Vijdt and hiswife Lysbette Borluut. The upper register of the opened

view shows a Deësis of Christ the King, Virgin Mary andJohn the Baptist. They are flanked by images of angels

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2 1 COMMISSION

singing and playing music, and, on the outermost panels,Adam and Eve. The lower register of the central panelshows the adoration of the Lamb of God, with severalgroups in attendance or streaming in to worship, overseenby the dove of the Holy Spirit.

Since its creation the altarpiece has been consideredone of Northern European art’s masterpieces and oneof the world’s treasures.[5] Over the centuries the pan-els have come close to destruction during outbreaks oficonoclasm, or damage by fire. Some panels were soldand others looted during wars. The panels that had beentaken away by the German occupying forces were re-turned to St. Bavo’s Cathedral after World War I. In 1934two panels, The Just Judges and Saint John the Baptist,were stolen. The panel of Saint John the Baptist was re-turned by the thief soon after, but the 'The Just Judges’panel is still missing. In 1945, the altarpiece was returnedfrom Germany after spending much of World War II hid-

den in a salt mine, which greatly damaged the paint andvarnish. The Belgian art restorer Jef Van der Veken pro-duced a copy of the stolen panel 'The Just Judges’, as partof an overall restoration effort.

1 Commission

Jodocus Vijdt (d. 1439)

Lysbette Borluut (d. 1443)

Jodocus (known as Joos) Vijd was a wealthy merchantand came from a family that had been influential in Ghentfor several generations. His father, Vijd Nikolaas (d.

1412), had been close to Louis II of Flanders. By theend of his life Jodocus had become one of the most se-nior and politically powerful citizens of Ghent. He wastitled Seigneur of Pamele and Ledeberg, and in a diffi-cult and rebellious political climate, became one of theDuke of Burgundy Philip the Good's most trusted lo-cal councilmen. Around 1398 Jodocus married LysbetteBorluut, who also came from a rich and established cityfamily.[6] The couple died childless and the endowmentto the church and the commissioning of such an unprece-dentedly monumental altarpiece were intended for a num-ber of reasons, chiefly to secure a legacy. But, accordingto Borchert, also to “secure his position in the hereafter”

and, important to such an ambitious politician, demon-strate his social prestige, revealing, Borchert believes, adesire to “show off and ... outstrip by far all other endow-ments to St John’s, if not each and every other church andmonastery in Ghent.”[7]

Ghent prospered through the early 1400s, and a numberof local councilors sought to establish a sense of indepen-dence from Burgundian rule. Philip was experiencing fi-nancial difficulty in the early 1430s, and made strong de-mands on the city to provide revenue, a burden many ofcity councilors felt was unreasonable and that they couldill afford, financially or politically. The situation was

tense, and because there was division within the councilover the burden, this led to a mistrust that meant coun-cil membership was dangerous and precarious. Duringa power play in 1432 a number of councilors were mur-dered, seemingly for their loyalty to Philip. The tensioncame to a head in a 1433 revolt which ended with the be-heading of the councilors who had acted as ringleaders.[8]

Throughout all this Vijd stayed loyal to Philip. His posi-tion as warden at St. John the Baptist’s church (now SaintBavo Cathedral) reflects this; the church was favoured bythe Burgundians for official ceremonies held in Ghent.On the day of the altarpiece’s consecration, 6 May 1432,

Philip’s and Isabella of Portugal's son was baptised there,a strong indicator of Vijd’s status at the time.[9]

Vijd, as warden (kerkmeester ) of St. John’s, between1410 and 1420 not only financed the construction of theprincipal chapel’s bay, but endowed a new chapel off thechoir, which took his family name and was regularly tohold masses in his and his ancestors’ memory. It wasfor this new chapel that he commissioned Hubert vanEyck to create an unusually large and complex polyptychaltarpiece.[6] He was recorded as donor on an inscrip-tion on the original, now lost, frame. The chapel wasdedicated to St. John the Baptist,[10] whose traditional

attribute is the Lamb of God, a symbol of Christ.[11]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblemhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_van_Eyckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_van_Eyckhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choir_(architecture)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_(architecture)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_of_Portugalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Bavo_Cathedralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Bavo_Cathedralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_the_Goodhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_of_Burgundyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ledeberghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oudenaardehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_II_of_Flandershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jef_Vandervekenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Just_Judgeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconoclasmhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_of_Godhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_and_Eve


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2 Attribution

Woodcut portrait of Hubert van Eyck , by Edme de Boulonois,

mid-16th century.

Attribution to the van Eyck brothers has been establishedthrough the small amount of surviving documentary evi-dence attached to the commission, and from Jan’s signa-ture and dating on a reverse frame. Jan seems to min-imize his contribution in favor of his brother, who wasdead with 6 years by the time of work’s completion in1432. A less explicit indicator is their seeming portraitsas the third and fourth horseman in the Just Judges panel.Ramsay Homa notes lettering in the central panel of thelower register that might be read as an early formationof what was to become Jan’s well known signature, builtaround various formations of “ALS IK KAN” (As I Can),a pun on his full name. The lettering is found on theheaddress of one of the prophets standing at the back ofthe grouping. It seems to be in a Hebrew script that maytranslate, inelegantly, into French as Le chapeau ... orne

de trois lettres herbraiques formant le mot Saboth, or morelikely as “Yod, Feh, Aleph”, which when transliteratedrepresents Jan’s initials, JvE.[12]

Since the 19th century, art historians have debated whichpassages were executed by the little-known and obscureHubert and which are by Jan, who was famous across Eu-rope by the early 1430s. In the 17th and 18th centuries,it was often assumed that Jan had found a number of ran-dom panels left behind after Hubert’s death and assem-bled them into the current format. This view has beendiscounted since the early 19th century, on the basis ofthe obvious overall design of the work, although there are

obvious stylistic differences between many passages.[13]Today it is generally accepted that the majority were com-pleted by Jan, from an overall design by Hubert, who may

also have constructed parts of the frames. A number ofdifficulties present themselves, not least that there is nosurviving work confidently attributed to Hubert, and itis thus impossible to detect his style. Instead, art his-torians have resorted to comparing individual passagesto known works by Jan, looking for stylistic differences

that might indicate the work of another hand. Advancesin Dendrochronology have for example established thatparts of the wing panels were felled around 1421. Allow-ing a seasoning time of at least 10 years, we must assumea completion date well after Hubert’s death in 1426, thusruling out his hand from large portions of the wings.[14]

3 Style and technique

View of Utrecht Cathedral from the central inner panel

Although Jan was skilled as a miniaturist, and there ismuch evidence of that ability in the details of the GhentAltarpiece, the polyptych differs in a number of signif-icant aspects to the other paintings generally attributedto him, not least in its scale. In addition, it is the onlywork thought to be of his hand that was intended for pub-lic, rather than private, worship and display.[15] Van Eyckpays as much attention to the beauty of earthly things as

to the religious themes. The clothes and jewels, the foun-tain, nature surrounding the scene, the churches and land-scape in the background – are all painted with remarkable

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4 4 OPEN VIEW

detail. The landscape is rich with vegetation, which is ob-served with an almost scientific accuracy, and much of itnon-European.[16]

Lighting plays a central role and is one of the major in-novations of the polyptych. The panels are infused with

complex light effects and subtle plays of shadow, the ren-dering of which was achieved through a new technique ofhandling oil paint as well as the use of transparent glazes.The figures are mostly cast with short, diagonal shadowswhich serve to, in the words of art historian Till-HolgerBorchert, “not only heighten their spatial presence, butalso tell us that the primary light source is located be-yond the picture itself.”[17] In the Annunciation scene ofthe outer panels, shadows are depicted in a manner thatimplies that they emanate from the daylight within thechapel in which they are housed.[18]

A further innovation can be found in the detailing of sur-

face textures, especially reflections and refractions. Thisis best seen in details such as the effect of the fall of lighton the armor in the Knights of Christ panel, and the rip-ple of the water in the Fountain of life in the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb.[19] Yet although the work contains manyindividual innovations, it did not emerge spontaneously,but is rather part of a long tradition of oil painting andaltarpiece design of the southern Netherlands. A greatnumber of these works were destroyed during the icon-oclasm of the mid 16th century, a period in which theGhent Altarpiece was twice nearly destroyed; on 19 Au-gust 1566, and again in 1576 when a special guard wasput on the work to protect it from rioters. [20] The scale of

destruction in these waves was such that the Ghent histo-rian Marcus Van Vaenewijk (1516–69) recorded that inthe summer of 1566 the burning pyres on which the workswere thrown could be seen from 10 miles away. Becauseof this, art historian Susie Nash points out that the Ghentwork seems so unusual in part because it was one of thefew major examples to survive wholly intact.[21]

4 Open view

The altarpiece was opened on feast days, when the rich-ness, colour and complexity of inner view was intendedto contrast with the relative austerity of the outer pan-els. As viewed when open, the panels are organised alongtwo registers (levels), and contain depictions of hundredsof figures.[15] The upper level consists of seven monu-mental panels, each almost six feet high, and includesa large central image of Christ flanked by frames show-ing Mary (left) and John the Baptist (right), which con-tain over twenty inscriptions each referring to the figuresin the central Deësis panels.[22] These panels are flankedby two pairs of images on the folding wings of the al-tarpiece. The pair of images closest to the Deësis show

singers in heaven, while the outermost pair show Adamand Eve, naked save for strategically placed fig leaves.[23]

The lower register has a panoramic landscape stretching

continuously across five panels.[24] While the individualpanels of the upper tier clearly contain separate – albeitpaired – pictorial spaces, the lower tier is presented asa unified Mise en scène.[25] Of the 12 individual panels,eight have paintings on their reverse visible when the al-tarpiece is closed.

4.1 Upper register

4.1.1 Deësis

The Virgin Mary

The central figure, usually referred to as “The Almighty”

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4.1 Upper register 5

John the Baptist

The three central upper panels show a Deësis of monu-mental and enthroned figures, each with a halo. They arethe Virgin Mary to the left, John the Baptist to the right,and a central figure whose identity is unclear – he is eitherGod or Christ – leading to much debate among scholars.Theories include that he is Christ in Majesty, dressed as ina priest’s vestments,[26] God the Father, or the Holy Trin-ity amalgamated into a single person – Elisabeth Dhanensbelieves that the fact he wears a triple tiara lends credenceto this long held view.[27]

The central figure faces the viewer with his hand raised inblessing, against a panel filled with inscriptions and sym-bols. Greek inscriptions decorated with pearls are on thehem of his robe or mantle, which, taken from Revelation,read REX REGUM ET DOMINUS DOMINANTIUM (“Kingof Kings, and Lord of Lords”).[23] The golden brocadeon the throne features pelicans and vine, probable ref-erences to the blood spilled during the Crucifixion ofJesus; pelicans were at the time believed to spill theirown blood to feed their young, while the vines referto sacramental wine, the eucharistic symbol of Christ’sblood.[28] A crown is at his feet, and on either side the stepis lined with two levels of text. The left hand upper linereads VITA SINE MORTE IN CAPITE (“Lifewithout death onhis head”), that on the right LUVENTUS SINE SENECTUTE IN FRONTE (“Youth without age on his forehead”). Theseare placed above - on the left and right respectively - thewords GAUDIUM SINE MERORE A DEXTRIS (“Joy withoutsorrow on his right side”) and SECURITAS SINE TIMORE ASINISTRIS (“Safety without fear on his left side”).[29] Thecrown serves as a transition to the Lamb panel directlybelow and perhaps serves to symbolize that those figuresin the lower register panels who represent humanity flockto pay homage to God.[30]

To the left Mary reads from a girdle book draped witha green cloth. The book is an unusual attribute forMary, according to Pächt, who writes that van Eyck may

have based the figure on Robert Campin's Virgin Annuni-cate.[30] She is wearing a crown adorned with flowers andstars, and according to Dhanens is dressed as a bride.The inscription on the arched throne above reads: “Sheis more beautiful than the sun and the army of the stars;compared to the light she is superior. She is truly the re-

flection of eternal light and a spotless mirror of God”.[31]Like Mary, John the Baptist holds a holy book - like-wise an unusual attribute, and one of 18 books in the setof panels.[32] He wears a green mantle over a cilice ofcamel-hair. He looks towards the Almighty in the centerpanel, also with his hand raised in blessing, uttering thewords most typically associated with him, ECCE AGNUS DEI (“Behold the Lamb of God”).[23]

It is often assumed that given the foreshortening seen inthe representation of God the Father, the artist was fa-miliar with the either of the Italian painters Donatello orMasaccio. However Susie Nash suggests van Eyck was al-

ready leading toward this development, and it was some-thing he was “perfectly capable of producing without suchmodels”, and believes the technique represents “a sharedinterest [rather than] a case of influence.”[33]

4.1.2 Musical angels

Detail from the Singing Angels.

The two musical panels are commonly known by vari-

ants of the titles Singing Angels and Music-making Angels ,and are both 161 cm x 69.3 cm. Each features a choir;on the left angels gather behind a wooden carved musicstand positioned on a swivel, to the right a group withstringed instruments gather around a pipe organ, playedby a seated angel, shown full-length. The presence of thetwo groups on either side of the Deësis reflects a by thenwell-established motif in representations of the heavensopening; that of musical accompaniment provided by ce-lestial beings.[34] As was common in the Low Countriesin the 15th century, the angels are dressed in liturgicalrobes, a custom that migrated from Latin liturgical drama

to the art of the period.

[35]

The angels are attendant to the King of Kings, that is,to God the father in the central Deësis panel. This idea

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reflects a motif popular in the hagiography of the early15th century.[19][36] They are presented without many ofthe attributes usually associated with depictions of angelsin northern art of the time. Most obviously, they do nothave wings, while their faces are unidealised and show anumber of different individual expressions. Music his-

torian Stanley Boorman notes that their depiction con-tains many earthly qualities, writing that “the naturalismis so seductive that the viewer is tempted to consider thescenes as depictions of contemporary church music.”[37]

Yet he concludes that the inscriptions “reinstalls them inthe heavenly sphere”.[38] In both panels the angels standon maiolica tiles decorated with the IHS Christogram,representations of the lamb and other images.[19] Theframe of the left hand panel is inscribed with the words,MELOS DEO LAUS (“Music in Praise of God”), the frameof the right with LAUDATE EUM IN CORDIS ET ORGANO (“Praise him with stringed instruments and organs”).[23]

A number of art historians have defined the figures as an-gels based on their positioning and role within the over-all context of the registers. They are sexless and possesscherub faces, which contrast with the realistic depictionsof the other full-sized non-divine females in the work;Eve in the same register[19] and Lysbette Borluut in theouter panels. The angels are dressed in elaborately bro-caded ecclesiastical copes or chasubles, mostly paintedin reds and greens. Their robes indicate that they are in-tended as representative of the celebration of mass beforethe altar in the lower central panel.

Detail from the Music-making Angels.

The left-hand group shows eight fair haired angels wear-

ing crowns and gathered in front of a music stand singing,although none of them looks towards the score on thestand. As in a number of the other panels, here van Eyckused the device of the open mouth to give a sense of lifeand motion to his figures. Borchert writes that the em-phasis on the open mouths is “specifically motivated by

the desire to characterize the angel’s facial expressions ac-cording to the various ranges of polyphonic singing. Tothat end the position of the angel’s tongues are carefullyregistered, as are that of their teeth.”[39] Art historianElisabeth Dhanens notes that “One can easily see by theirsinging who is the soprano, who is the alto, who is thetenor and who is the bass”.[32] The panel deviates fromcommon performance practice, however, with its wave-like order in body height, and the orientation of all eightfaces in different directions. A number of scholars havewritten on their physiognomy. Their cherub faces andlong, open, curly hair are similar but also show a clear

intention by the artist to establish individual traits. Fourangels are shown frowning, and three of these have nar-rowed eyelids which give the appearance that they arepeering, a trait also seen in some of the apostles in the“Adoration of the Lamb” register. Pächt sees this ashighly unusual in Jan van Eyck’s presentation of figuresand speculates that their expressions are remnants of Hu-bert’s initial design.[40]

In the right-hand panel, the only angel fully visible isthe organist around whose instrument the others gather.Although a larger group is suggested, only another fourangel’s faces can be seen in the closely cropped hud-

dle. These other angels carry stringed instruments, in-cluding a small harp and a type of viol.[32] The instru-ments are shown in remarkable detail. The organ at whichSaint Cecilia sits is detailed with such precision that inplaces its metal surfaces show reflections of light. [19] Un-til the Trecento, when the idea of orchestration was intro-duced, music playing angels were typically winged, de-picted holding stringed or wind instruments as they hov-ered “on the wing” around on the edges of images ofsaints and deities.[41] In French illuminated manuscriptsof the first two decades of the 1400s, winged angels oftenseemingly floated on the margins of the page, as illustra-tions to the accompanying text. Art historian Otto Pächt

notes however, that here the angels are not expected tosimultaneously “fly, sing and play”, and that their “music-making” seems to be conducted on a “more professionallevel ... [more] in accordance with all the rules of churchmusic.”[40]

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4.1.3 Adam and Eve

Adam

Eve

The two outer panels show near life-sized nudes of Adamand Eve standing in stone niches. They are the earliesttreatment in art of the human nude with Early Nether-landish naturalism,[42] and are almost exactly contempo-rary with the equally ground-breaking pair in Masaccio'sExpulsion from the Garden of Eden in Florence of about1425. The Ghent figures face inwards towards the angelsand the Deësis, separating them. They self-consciouslyattempt to cover their nakedness with a fig leaf as in theGenesis account, indicating that they are depicted as afterthe fall of man. Eve holds a fruit in her raised right hand;not the traditional apple but a small citrus, most proba-bly a citron. Erwin Panofsky drew particular attention tothis element, and described it as emblematic of the “dis-guised” symbolism he saw running through the work as awhole.[43] Both figures’ eyes are downcast and they appearto have forlorn expressions. Their apparent sadness hasled many art historians to wonder about van Eyck’s inten-tion in this portrayal. Some have questioned if they areashamed of their committal of original sin, or dismayedat the world they now look upon.[43]

The realism with which Jan approached his figures is es-pecially evident in these two panels. The depiction ofEve exemplifies the Late Gothic ideal for the female fig-ure, as developed in International Gothic art around the

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start of the century, and pioneered in nude form by theLimbourg brothers, especially their Adam and Eve in theTrès Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Comparing the Lim-bourg’s Eve to a classical female nude, Kenneth Clark ob-served that “her pelvis is wider, her chest narrower, herwaist higher; above all there is the prominence given to

her stomach”.[44] Clark describes the Ghent Eve as “aproof of how minutely 'realistic' a great artist may be inthe rendering of details, and yet subordinate the whole toan ideal form. Hers is the supreme example of the bulb-like body. The weight-bearing leg is concealed, and thebody is so contrived that on one side is the long curve ofthe stomach, on the other downward sweep of the thigh,uninterrupted by any articulation of bone or muscle.”[45]

Detail showing Eve holding the citrus fruit.

The precision and detail with which their nakedness isrecorded offended many over the years. During a visitto the cathedral in 1781, Joseph II of Bohemia and Hun-gary found them so disagreeable that he demanded theybe removed.[46] The couple’s nakedness further offended19th century sensibilities, when their presence in a churchcame to be considered unacceptable. The panels were re-placed by reproductions in which the figures were dressedin skin cloth; these are still on display in the Saint BavoCathedral. In comparison to contemporary depictions ofAdam and Eve, this version is very spare and omits theusual motifs associated with the theme; there is no ser-pent, tree or any trace of the garden of Eden normallyfound in contemporary paintings.[43] In contrast to theother panels in the register, Adam and Eve are positionednear the edge of each panel, and neither is entirely withinthe border of their setting. Most obviously Adam’s footappears to protrude out of the niche and frame and into

real space. More subtly, Eve’s arm, shoulder and hip ap-pear to extend beyond her architectural setting. Theseelements give the panel a three-dimensional aspect. The

trompe-l'œil become more pronounced when the wingsare turned slightly inwards,[47] an especially interestingfact when it is considered that the polyptych was widerthan the original chapel it was executed for and couldnever be opened fully.

Above Adam is a grisaille depiction of Abel making asacrifice of the first lamb of his flock to God and Cainpresenting part of his crops as a farmer to the Lord, andabove Eve is one showing the murder of Abel by hisbrother Cain with an ass’s jawbone because, accordingto the Bible, Cain was jealous of the Lord’s acceptanceof Abel’s offering over Cain’s. Van Eyck gives the figuresa statuesque look, adding depth to the picture.[32]

Both Adam and Eve are depicted with a navel. Paintingsof naked human beings without navels look unnatural andgiven the level of detail in the panels this was probably adeliberate choice and not oversight.

4.2 Lower register

Detail

A continuous panoramic landscape unifies the five panelsof the lower register,[47] with the center panel showingthe adoration of the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei ) in a scenederived from the Gospel of John.[48] Groupings of peo-ple stream in to worship him; four groupings are showncongregating at each corner of the central panel, whileanother four arrive in the two pairs of outer panels – the

Warriors of Christ and Just Judges on the left-hand side,and the holy hermits and pilgrims on the right.[49] Of theeight groupings only one consists of females. The group-ings are segregated by their relationship to the old andnew testaments, with those from the older books posi-tioned to the left of the altar.[50]

Among the pilgrims on the outer right-hand panel is agiant Saint Christopher, patron saint of travelers. At therear of the hermits on the inner right-hand panel is MaryMagdalene, carrying ungutents. The four wings are overten centimeters longer than the central panel, a fact thathas puzzled art historians over the centuries. Theories as

to why this may be so range from speculation that theywere unfinished works by Hubert that Jan completed andassembled, to that the central panel was originally larger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unguentshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalenehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Magdalenehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Christopherhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testamenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Testamenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Johnhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_of_Godhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_and_Abelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_and_Abelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trompe-l%2527%C5%93ilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Edenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Bavo_Cathedralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Bavo_Cathedralhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperorhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelvishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clarkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A8s_Riches_Heures_du_Duc_de_Berryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbourg_brothers


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4.2 Lower register 9

and at some stage cut down. This latter theory has beendiscounted more recently after technical examination.[51]

4.2.1 Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

Measuring 134.3 x 237.5 cm,[52] the center panel has asits centerpiece an altar on which the Lamb of God is po-sitioned, standing in a verdant meadow, while the fore-ground shows a fountain. Five distinct groups of figuressurround altar and fountain. In the mid-ground two fur-ther groups figures are seen gathering; the dove of theHoly Spirit is above. The meadow is framed by treesand bushes; with the spires of Jerusalem visible in thebackground. Dhanens says the panel shows “a magnifi-cent display of unequaled color, a rich panorama of latemedieval art and the contemporary world-view.”[53] In1495, Hieronymus Münzer described the piece as the

eight beatitudes, saying of “And all of this is painted withsuch wondrous ingenuity and skill, that you would sup-pose this to be not merely a painting but the whole artof painting.”[54] Dhanens speculates one of the groupingsmay have been on the lost predella.[55] The iconography,as suggested by the groupings of the figures, appears tofollow the liturgy of All Saints’ Day.[56]

The central “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb” panel. The group-

ings offigures are, fromtop left anti-clockwise: the male martyrs,

the pagan writers and Jewish prophets, the male saints, and the

female martyrs.

Lamb of God The lamb stands on an altar, facing theviewer and is surrounded by 14 angels arranged in acircle,[57] some holding symbols of Christ’s Passion, andtwo swing censers.[53] The lamb[58] has a wound on itsbreast from which blood gushes into a golden chalice,yet it shows no outward expression of pain, a referenceto Christ’s sacrifice. The angels have vivid multicoloredwings and hold instruments of Christ’s passion, includ-ing the cross and the crown of thorns. The antependiumon the upper portion of the front of the altar is inscribedwith the words taken from John 1:29; ECCE AGNUS DEI QUI TOLLIT PECCATA MUNDI (“Behold the Lamb of God

who takes away the sins of the world”). The lappets bearthe phrases IHESUS VIA (“Jesus the Way”) and VERITAS VITA (“the Truth, the Life”).[57] Although the centerpiece

of the panel, the lamb is placed in the mid-ground, mak-ing the viewer look beyond the foreground figures to seethe central motif of the work.[59]

The fountain of life is on the same axis in the pictorial space as

the altar above[53]

The dove of the Holy Spirit hovers low in the sky directlyabove the lamb, surrounded by concentric semicircles ofwhite and yellow hues of varying luminosity, the outer-most of which resembles nimbus clouds. Thin goldenbeams emanating from the dove resemble those surround-ing the head of the lamb, as well as those of the three fig-ures in the Deësis panels in the upper register. The raysseem to have been painted by van Eyck over the finishedlandscape, and serve to illuminate the scene in a celestial,supernatural light. This is especially true with the lightfalling on the saints positioned directly in front of the al-tar. The light does not give reflection or throw shadow,[60]

and has traditionally been read by art historians as repre-senting the New Jerusalem of Revelations which in 21:23,had “no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in

it; for the glory of God did Lighten it”.[61] This illumi-nation contrasts with the natural and directional lightingof the four upper interior wings, and of each of the outer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jerusalemhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De%C3%ABsishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimbus_cloudhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lappethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antependiumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_thornshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(Christianity)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_(Christianity)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%2527_Dayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatitudeshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hieronymus_M%C3%BCnzer


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10 4 OPEN VIEW

wings. It has been interpreted as a device to emphasizethe presence of the divine and accentuate the paradise ofthe central landscape.[60] The dove as the Holy Spirit, andthe lamb as Jesus, are positioned on the same axis as thatof God The Father in the panel directly above; a referenceto the Holy Trinity.[62]

Fountain of life In the center foreground the fountainof life joins a stream with a jewel-laden bed. In thedistance, the minutely detailed cityscape recalls NewJerusalem.[63] The detail and precise attention to land-scape and nature is heretofore unseen in Northern Eu-ropean art, far superseding previous art. The recogniz-able and numerous species of plants, native to NorthernEurope and the Mediterranean, are minutely depicted, re-produced with a high level of botanical accuracy. Simi-larly, the clouds and rock formations in the distance con-tain degrees of verisimilitude that evince studied observa-tion. The far landscape contains representations of actualchurches, while the depiction of the mountains beyondcontain the first known example in art of aerial perspec-tive.[64] Yet the panel does not strive for exact realism;the sum of the forensically detailed natural elements, incombination with the apparition of the Holy Spirit and ex-tended beams of light, serve to create a wholly individualand uniquely creative interpretation of a classic biblicalscene.[60] The fountain’s rim shows the carved inscription,HIC EST FONS AQUE VITE PROCENDENS DE SEDE DEI +

AGNI (“This is the fountain of the water of life, proceed-ing out of the throne of God and of the Lamb”), symbol-

izing the fountain of life is “watered by the blood of theLamb”.[23] From its center rises a column with an angelabove bronze dragons, from which streams of water fallinto the fountain’s basin. A vertical axis forms betweenthe fountain and altar, where the flowing blood testimonyto the spirit as cited in John, 5:97.[53] Similar the altar andits ring of angels, the fountain is surrounded by figures ar-ranged in distinct groupings.[65]

Prophets, Apostles, and Church figures The semi-circle of figures to the left and right of the fountain con-sist of various biblical, pagan, and church figures, somecrowded around the fountain in what Pächt describes astwo “processions of figures [that] have crowded to a halt”.To the left are representatives of figures from Judaism andprophets who have foretold the coming of Christ; to theright representatives from the Church.[65] The figures di-rectly to the left of the fountain represent witnesses fromthe Old Testament;[57] dressed in pink robes, kneeling,reading aloud from open copies of the Bible, facing themid-ground with backs turned to the viewer.[59] A largergroup of pagan philosophers and writers stand behindthem. These men seem have traveled from all over theworld, given the Oriental faces of some, and their differ-

ent styles of headdress. The figure in white, holding a lau-rel wreath, is generally accepted to be Virgil, who is saidto have predicted the coming of the Saviour. Isaiah stands

Three ofthe figures in thegroupingto theright of thefountain can

be identified as Martin V , Gregory VII and Antipope Alexander V .[66]

to his side holding a twig, a symbol of his own proph-esy of Christ as recorded in Isaiah 11:1.[57] Opposite onthe right, kneel the twelve apostles from the New Testa-ment before a group of male saints. These, dressed in redvestments symbolizing martyrs, are the Popes and otherclergy representing the church hierarchy.[53] A numberare recognizable, including Saint Stephen who carries therocks with which he was stoned. Three popes in theforeground represent the Western Schism—a dispute that

festered and lingered in Ghent—and are identifiable asMartin V, Gregory VII and Antipope Alexander V. Dha-nens suggest the positioning of popes standing beside an-tipope shows “an atmosphere of reconciliation”.[66]

Confessors and martyrs In the mid-ground, to the leftand right of the altar, are two more groups of figures: themale martyrs (all visible are clergy) and female martyrs.Identifiable biblical figures carry palms.[65] These enterthe pictorial space as though through a path in the fo-liage, males standing to the left, women to the right.[67]

The female martyrs, sometimes known as the holy vir-gins, are gathered by an abundant meadow, a symbol offertility. A number are identified by their attributes: in

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emblemhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipope_Alexander_Vhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_XIIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Martin_Vhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Schismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Stephenhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_apostleshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipope_Alexander_Vhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipope_Alexander_Vhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_XIIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Martin_Vhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiahhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgilhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_perspectivehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_perspectivehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_lifehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_lifehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity


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front St. Agnes carries a lamb, St. Barbara a tower,Saint Catherine of Alexandria is finely dressed, and St.Dorothy carries flowers; further back St. Ursula car-ries an arrow.[57][66] On their heads they wear floweredcrowns.[56] The men, on the left, consist of confessors,popes, cardinals, abbots and monks who are dressed in

blue.[66]

4.2.2 Just Judges and the Knights of Christ

Winged panels to the left of the “Adoration of the MysticLamb” show groups of approaching knights and judges.Their biblical source can be identified from inscriptionson the panel frames. The far left hand panels contain let-tering reading "CHRISTI MILITES" (Warriors of Christ ),and the inside left panel “IUSTI IUDICES” (Righteous (or Just) Judges ).[16] The presence of the Judges, none ofwhom were canonised saints, is an anomaly which art his-

torians have long sought to explain. The most likely ex-planation is that they refer to Jodocus Vijd’s position asan alderman of Ghent.[68]

The “Just Judges” is thought to contain portraits of bothJan and Hubert as the third and fourth Judges on horse-back. The evidence for this is the similarity of one ofthe figures to Jan’s London Portrait of a Man of 1433,which is generally thought to be a self-portrait. The sec-ond, closer, figure is thought to be Hubert, because offacial similarity to Jan. Although the judge in the Ghentpanel appears to be younger than the sitter in the Londonpainting, they wear similar chaperons with the cornette

tightly bound around the bourrelet.[69] The judges in theGhent panel became the basis for a number of later por-traits of the brothers, including that of Dominicus Lamp-sonius.[70]

5 Closed view

Detail of the prophet Micah in the right lunette.

The altarpiece measures 375 cm x 260 cm with the shut-ters closed. The upper panels contain separate lunettesshowing prophets and Sibyls looking down on an annunci-ation scene; the lower tier shows the donors on the far left

and right panels flanked by saints.[52] The exterior pan-els are executed with reserve and sparseness in compar-ison to the often fantastical colour and abundance of the

scenes on the interior which they conceal. Their pictorialspaces are confined and, especially in the upper register,cramp the figures. The settings are earthly, pared downand relatively simple. Yet there is the same striking useof illusionism which also characterises the inner panels;this is especially true of the faux stone grisaille statues

representing the saints. Lighting is used to great effectto create the impression of depth;[71] van Eyck handlesthe fall of light and casting of shadow to make the viewerfeel as if the pictorial space is influenced or lit by lightentering from the chapel in which he stands.

5.1 Upper register

5.1.1 Lunettes

The figures in the lunettes refer to prophecies of the com-ing of Christ. The far left lunette shows the prophetZechariah and the far right one shows Micah. The twomuch taller inner shutters show the Erythraean Sibyl (onthe left) and the Cumaean Sibyl on the right. Eachpanel includes a text inscribed on a floating ribbon or"banderole", while the identities of the figures are carvedon the lower border of each panel. Zechariah’s text, takenfron Zechariah 9:9, reads EXAULT SATIS FILIA SYON JU-BILA ECCE REX TUUS VENTI (“Rejoice greatly, O daugh-ter of Zion ... behold, your king comes”), while theErythraean Sibyl’s words are NIL MORTALE SONAS AF-FLATA ES NUMINE CELSO (“Sounding nothing mortal youare inspired by power from on high”).[72] To the right

the Cumaean Sibyl’s reads REX ALTISSIMUS ADVENIET PER SECULA FUTURUS SCILICET IN CARNE (“The High-est King shall come and shall be in the flesh through theages”).[73]

Zechariah and Micah look down on thefulfillment of theirprophecies contained in the banderoles floating behindthem. The Erythraean Sibyl is shown observing, whilethe Cumaean Sibyl, wearing a green dress with thick fursleeves, gazes down at Mary, her hand held in empathyover her own womb.[74] Micah’s lunette employs one ofthe first instances of an illusionistic motif best knownfrom Petrus Christus's Portrait of a Carthusian (c.1446),

wherein the sense of the boundary between the painting,frame and viewer’s space becomes blurred. In this in-stance, the prophet knowingly places his hand outwardson the lower border of the frame.

In October 1428 Jan did accompany a Burgundian em-bassy, this time for the hand of Isabella, eldest daughterof John I of Portugal (reg 1385–1433). After a stormforced them to spend four weeks in England, the Burgun-dians arrived in Lisbon in December. In January they metthe King in the castle of Aviz, and van Eyck painted theInfanta’s portrait, probably in two versions to accompanythe two separate groups who left by sea and by land on 12

February to report the terms to the Duke. The portraitsare untraced, butone is preserved in a drawing (Germany,priv. col., see Sterling, fig.), which reveals that Jan used

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_a_Carthusianhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrus_Christushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banderole_(speech_scroll)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumaean_Sibylhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythraean_Sibylhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micah_(prophet)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zechariah_(Hebrew_prophet)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grisaillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibylshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunetteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunettehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micah_(prophet)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominicus_Lampsoniushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominicus_Lampsoniushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourrelethttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornettehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaperon_(headgear)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_a_Man_(Self_Portrait%253F)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldermanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Christianushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Ursulahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_of_Caesareahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_of_Caesareahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Catherine_of_Alexandriahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Barbarahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_of_Rome


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12 5 CLOSED VIEW

Detail showing the Erythraean Sibyl .

the princess’s Portuguese dress for the Erythrean sibyl onthe Ghent Altarpiece.[75]

In the mid 20th century, art historian Volker Herznernoted the facial similarity between the Cumaean Sibyland Philip’s wife Isabella of Portugal, especially as sheis portrayed in van Eyck’s now lost betrothal portrait of1428–1429.[76] Herzner speculated that the text in thebanderole in the sibyl’s panel has a double meaning, re-ferring not only to the coming of Christ, but also to the

1432 birth of Philip’s first son and heir to survive infancy.Others reject this idea, given the high rates of infant mor-tality at the time, and the connotations of bad luck usually

Detail showing the Cumaean Sibyl .

associated with acclaiming a son before he is born.[77]

5.1.2 Annunciation

The two outer panels of the middle register show theAnnunciation to Mary, with the Archangel Gabriel on theleft and the Virgin Mary on the right. Both are dressedin white robes, and occupy what appear to be the op-

posite ends of the same room.[6] The figures of Maryand Gabriel are disproportionately large in relation to thescale of the rooms they occupy. Art historians agree

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archangel_Gabrielhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annunciation_to_Maryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumaean_Sibylhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Isabella_of_Portugal_(van_Eyck)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_of_Portugalhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erythraean_Sibyl


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that this follows the conventions of both the InternationalGothic and late Byzantine traditions of the icon by show-ing saints, especially Mary, in a much larger scale thantheir surroundings. In this instance their size is probablya device to convey the idea that they are heavenly appari-tions who have come momentarily before the donors who

are in the lower register. Van Eyck used this conceit mostdramatically in his Madonna in the Church, (c. 1438–40)which is likely a panel from a dismantled diptych.[78]

The Archangel Gabriel.

The Virgin Annunciate.

Gabriel has blond hair and multicoloured wings. His righthand is raised and in his left he holds lilies, tradition-ally found in paintings of the annunciation as symbolsof Mary’s virginity.[79][80] His words to Mary are writtenalongside him in Latin: AVE GRACIA PLENA D(OMI)N(U)S TECU(M) (“Hail who art full of grace, the Lord is withyou”). The horizontal inscription extends out the paneland halfway across the neighbouring image. As in vanEyck’s Washington Annunciation of c. 1434–6, the let-

ters of Mary’s reply are inscribed in reverse and upside-down; as if for God to read from heaven, or for the holyspirit, as represented by the dove, to read as he hovers di-

rectly above her. She answers ECCE ANCILLAM D(OMI)NI (“Behold the handmaiden of the Lord”).[81]

Gabriel and Mary’s panels are separated by two muchnarrower images showing unoccupied domestic interiorscenes.[78] The backwall in the left-hand image has a win-

dow opening onto a view of street and city square,

[6]

whilethat in the right-hand image has a niche. [71] Some art his-torians have attempted to associate this street with an ac-tual location in Ghent, but it is generally accepted thatit is not modeled on any specific place.[18] The sparse-ness of these narrow panels seem anomalous in the over-all context of the altarpiece; a number of art historianshave suggested that they were compromises worked outby Jan as he struggled to accommodate his design withinthe original framework set out by Hubert.[80]

The Archangel Gabriel wears a rich cope with a huge jewelled

morse in Jan van Eyck’s Annunciation , 1434–36

Penny Jolly suggests that in the mid to late 1420s he mayhave traveled to Italy at the behest of the Duke of Bur-gundy where, in Florence, he probably saw an iconic 14thcentury annunciation, and perhaps visited more contem-porary annunciation scenes. These Florentine annunci-ations had a number of iconographic similarities foundin the Ghent panels: Gabriel’s multi-colored wings, theupside down writing, the treatment of light beams, andthe separation between angel and virgin by a thin archi-tectural feature. Some of these elements, particularly thespatial separation between the two figures, can be foundin Lorenzo Monaco's Bartolini Salimbeni Annunciation in

Santa Trinita, finished before his death in 1424, and onethat Jan may have seen. In Monaco’s painting the angeland Mary are separated by two small spaces, one external

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Trinitahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolini_Salimbeni_Annunciationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Monacohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annunciation_(van_Eyck,_Washington)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archangel_Gabrielhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annunciation_(van_Eyck,_Washington)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Archangel_Gabrielhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diptychhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_in_the_Churchhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_arthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Gothichttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Gothic


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14 6 CONDITION

and one internal, similar to the city-scape and domesticlavabo panels in the Ghent annunciation.[80]

The style of the furnishings of the room and the moder-nity of the town visible through the arched window set thepanels in a contemporary 15th century setting. The inte-

riors have been cited as one of the first representationsof medieval “bourgeois domestic culture”.[82] Borchertsees this familiar setting as a device to allow 15th cen-tury viewers to connect with the panel and so reinforcethe conceit that the two saints are apparitions occupyingthe same space and time as the donor or observer.[71] Yeta number of features in the interior suggest that it is not asecular domestic space, most obviously the cool and aus-tere surfaces, the domed windows and stone columns. [82]

Salimbeni Annunciation , Lorenzo Monaco , 1420–1424. Santa

Trinita , Florence. This work has been suggested as a source for the two empty panels in the upper register, and the figures in the

lunettes.[83]

The four panels are most obviously connected by the sim-ilar floor tiling and single vanishing point.[71] Shadowsfalling on the tiling at the lower right hand corner ofeach panel can only have been cast by the moulding onthe frames, that is from an area outside of the pictorialspace.[84]

5.2 Lower register

The figures in the four panels of the lower register are allpositioned within uniform niches. The outer panels showthe donors Joost Vijdt and his wife Lysbette Borluut.[65]

The inner panels contain grisaille paintings of Saint Johnthe Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist. The use of gri-saille gives the illusion of sculpture, and implies that theseare cult representations of the two saints before which thedonors kneel, gazing into the distance with their handsclasped together, in rapt veneration.[85] As with the mostof the other panels on both the inner and outer views, they

are lit from the right.[18] Shadows thrown by the figuresare used to establish depth, and bring realism to both thefaux statues and painted niches.[37]

5.2.1 Saints and donors

Each saint stands on a stone plinth inscribed with hisname. John the Baptist, the son of the priest Zechariah(not to be confused with the prophet of the same nameshown on the upper register), holds a lamb in his left arm

and is turned towards Joost Vijdt. His right hand is raisedand his finger extended to point towards the lamb, a ges-ture that implies that he is reciting the Agnus Dei. Johnthe Evangelist holds a chalice, a reference to the earlymedieval tradition that he had ability with cures; he coulddrink poison from a cup without ill effects.[86]

The donors are painted life size,[85] and thus to a muchlarger scale than the saints; this is most noticeable in therelative sizes of their heads and hands. Their bright andwarmly colored clothes contrast sharply with the grey ofthe lifeless saints. Van Eyck brings a high degree of re-alism to his portrayal of the Vijdts; his study of the ail-

ing couple in old age is unflinching and far from flatter-ing. Details that reveal their aging include Joost’s water-ing eyes, wrinkled hands, warts, bald head and stubblestreaked with gray. The folds of both figures’ skin aremeticulously detailed, as are their protruding veins andfingernails.[37][87] The portraits are generally thought tobe among the final panels completed in the altarpiece, andthus are typically dated to 1431 or to the early months of1432.[88]

6 Condition

The first significant restoration was carried out in 1550by the painters Lancelot Blondeel and Jan van Scorel, fol-lowing the earlier and poorly executed cleaningby Jan vanScorel, that led to damage to the predella.[89] The 1550undertaking was performed with a care and reverencethat a contemporary account writes of “such love thatthey kissed that skilful work in art in many places”.[90]

The predella was destroyed by fire in the 16th century.[91]

Comprising a strip of small square panels[92] and exe-cuted in water based paints, it showed hell or limbo withChrist arriving to redeem those about to be saved. Dur-

ing the Protestant Reformation the piece was moved outof the chapel to prevent damage in the Beeldenstorm, firstto the attic and later to the town hall, where it remainedfor two decades.[89] In 1662 the Ghent painter Antoonvan den Heuvel was commissioned to clean the GhentAltarpiece.[93]

A program of restoration at the Museum of Fine Arts,Ghent began in October 2012, and is projected to lastfive years. Only the panels being worked on are in themuseum at any one time, with the others remaining ondisplay in the cathedral. At themuseum thepublic canseethe work in progress from behind a glass screen. [94] The

last previous major restoration was conducted in 1950–51, after damage sustained during its stay in the Austrianmines during WWII, during which newly developed tech-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Fine_Arts,_Ghenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Fine_Arts,_Ghenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoon_van_den_Heuvelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoon_van_den_Heuvelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beeldenstormhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predellahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_van_Scorelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelot_Blondeelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalicehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnus_Dei_(liturgy)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zechariah_(priest)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plinthhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Evangelisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grisaillehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donor_portraithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niche_(architecture)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanishing_pointhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florencehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Trinitahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Trinitahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo_Monacohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavabo


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15

niques, such as x-ray, were applied to the panels.[89]

7 Provenance

The Ghent Altarpiece during recovery from the Altaussee salt

mine at the end of World War II.

The altarpiece has been moved several times over thecenturies.[89] Art historian Noah Charney describes thealtarpiece as one of the more coveted and desired piecesof art, thevictim of 13 crimes since its installation,[95] andseven thefts.[96] After the French Revolution the altar-piece was among a number of art works plundered in to-day’s Belgium and taken to Paris where they were exhib-ited at the Louvre. It was returned to Ghent in 1815 afterthe French defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.[97] The paint-ing’s wings (not including the Adam and Eve panels)[97]

were pawned in 1815 by the Diocese of Ghent for theequivalent of £240. When the diocese failed to redeemthem, they were sold by the dealer Nieuwenhuys in 1816to the English collector Edward Solly for £4,000. Thepieces spent some months in London, during which timethe new owner unsuccessfully sought a buyer. They werelater bought by the King of Prussia for £16,000, a hugeprice at the time, and for many decades they were ex-hibited in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.[98] The panels stillin Ghent were damaged by fire in 1822, and the sepa-rately hinged Adam and Eve panels sent to a museum in

Brussels.[89]

During World War I, other panels were taken from thecathedral by German forces. Under the terms of theTreaty of Versailles and its subsequent reparations trans-fers, Germany returned all the panels,[5] and, in 1920, af-ter a century of separation, all the panels were again inGhent. In 1934, the panels of 'The Just Judges’ and 'SaintJohn the Baptist', were stolen. The panel of 'Saint Johnthe Baptist' was returned by the thief as a goodwill ges-ture, but the 'The Just Judges’ panel is still missing. [89]

The Germans “bitterly resented the loss of the panels”and, at the start of another invasion by Germany in 1940,

a decision was made in Belgium to send the altarpiece tothe Vatican to keep it safe.[5] The painting was in France,en route to the Vatican, when Italy declared war as an Axis

power alongside Germany. The painting was stored in amuseum in Pau, and French, Belgian and German mili-tary representatives signed an agreement which requiredthe consent of all three before the masterpiece could bemoved.[5] In 1942, Adolf Hitler ordered the painting to beseized and brought to Germany to be stored in the Schloss

Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. After Allied air raidsmade the castle too dangerous for the painting, it wasstored in the Altaussee salt mines.[99] Belgian and Frenchauthorities protested against the seizing of the painting,and the head of the German army’s Art Protection Unitwas dismissed after he disagreed with the seizure.[99]

The altarpiece was recovered by the Americans after thewar and returned to Belgium in a ceremony presided overby Belgian royalty at the Royal Palace of Brussels, wherethe 17 panels were displayed for the press. No Frenchofficials were invited, as the Vichy French had allowedthe Germans to remove the painting.[100]

8 Notes and references

Notes

[1] Burroughs (1933), 184

[2] Gombrich, E.H., The Story of Art , pages 236–9. Phaidon,

1995. ISBN 0-7148-3355-X

[3] Burroughs, 184–193

[4] Website with scanned reconstructions of the frame fromLotte Brand Philip's book, The Ghent Altarpiece (Prince-

ton, 1971), which originated some of these ideas.

[5] Kurtz (2004), 24

[6] Borchert (2008), 31

[7] Borchert (2008), 32–33

[8] Hagen et al., 37

[9] Borchert (2008), 32

[10] Borchert (2008), 17

[11] "The Infant Saint John with the Lamb". National Gallery,

London. Retrieved 17 November 2012.

[12] Homa (1974), 327

[13] Pächt, 214

[14] Nash (2008), 13

[15] Harbison (Reaktion), 194

[16] Pächt

[17] Borchert (2011), 22–23

[18] Harbison (1995), 81

[19] Borchert (2011), 24

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Galleryhttp://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/bartolome-esteban-murillo-the-infant-saint-john-with-the-lambhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotte_Brand_Philiphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/071483355Xhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vichy_Francehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Palace_of_Brusselshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaussee#Historyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavariahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Neuschwansteinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Neuschwansteinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitlerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pau,_Pyr%C3%A9n%C3%A9es-Atlantiqueshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_powershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_powershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Cityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I_reparationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles_Treatyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gem%C3%A4ldegalerie,_Berlinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_William_III_of_Prussiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Sollyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Diocese_of_Ghenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_du_Louvrehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolutionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah_Charneyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaussee


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16 8 NOTES AND REFERENCES

[20] Nash (2008), 11-12

[21] Nash (2008), 14

[22] Harbison (1995), 836

[23] Pächt (1999), 124

[24] A device later borrowed by Rogier van der Weyden for his

The Braque Triptych

[25] Borchert (2011), 19

[26] Lane (1984), 109

[27] Dhanens (1980), 106

[28] Charney (2010), 31

[29] Ridderbos et all (2004), 48

[30] Pächt (1994), 129-130

[31] Dhanens (1980), 106-108

[32] Dhanens (1980), 108

[33] Nash (2008), 30

[34] Pächt (1999), 124, 151-152

[35] McNamee, 268-274

[36] For example in the then popular "Golden Legend"

manuscript.

[37] Boorman (1983), 30

[38] Boorman (1983), 31

[39] Borchert (2011), 31–2, see also Golaqki-Voutrira (1998),

65–74

[40] Pächt (1999), 152

[41] Pächt (1999), 151

[42] Duby, George,A History of Private Life, Vol 2 Revelations

of the Medieval World , 1988 (English translation), p.582,

Belknap Press, Harvard University

[43] Snyder, 511

[44] Clark, 310

[45] Clark, 311

[46] Hagen et al., 39

[47] Borchert (2008), 28

[48] Charney (2010), 64

[49] Harbison (1995), 83

[50] Hagen et al. (2003), 38

[51] Pacht

[52] Pächt (1999), 212

[53] Dhanens (1980), 97

[54] Pächt (1999), 12

[55] Dhanens (1980), 104

[56] Dhanens (1980), 103

[57] Ridderbos at al (2004), 47

[58] This portion of the panel was restored following damage

suffered in an 1822 fire; however the restoration was notcomplete and some of the passages were abandoned mid-

way. The most startling result of this is that a portion of

an underdrawing of the lamb was left exposed, leading to

it now appearing to have four ears. See Pächt, (1999), 123

[59] Pächt (1999), 138

[60] Borchert (2011), 23

[61] Borchert (2008), 21

[62] Ridderbos et al. (2004), 53

[63] Charney (2010), 23

[64] Borchert (2008), 29

[65] Pächt (1999), 126

[66] Dhanens (1980), 100

[67] Dhanens (1980), 100.103

[68] Ridderbos et al., 54

[69] Campbell (1998), 216

[70] Bourchert (2008), 93–95

[71] Borchert (2011), 25

[72] Virgil, Aeneid, 6:50 “nec mortale sonans, adflata est nu-

mine”

[73] Ridderbos et al. (2004), 43

[74] Jolly (1998), 376

[75] The Oxford Art Online – Jan van Eyck

[76] The portrait is known today from a 17th-century pencil

copy. Otherart historians have suggested that the Virgin in

van Eyk’s Washington Annunciation bears Isabella’s face.

See Wolff, Hand (1987), 81

[77] Ridderbos at al (2004), 58–9

[78] Harbison (2012), p. 99

[79] Ridderbos et al. (2004), 19 & 77

[80] Jolly (1998), 375

[81] Harbison (1995), 82

[82] Borchert (2011), 27

[83] Jolly (1998), 374

[84] Pächt (1999), 13

[85] Pächt (1999), 169

[86] Jolly (1998), 392

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annunciation_(van_Eyck,_Washington)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Dubyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Legendhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Braque_Triptychhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogier_van_der_Weyden


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17

[87] These panels resemble passages from van Eyck’s c 1436

Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele, and the man-

ner of depicting the aged in such a way is characteristic

of a number of works produced by the workshop after his

death. See Borchert (2011), 30

[88] Meiss, Millard. "'Nicholas Albergati' and the Chronology

of Jan van Eyck’s Portraits”. The Burlington Magazine,

Volume 94, No. 590, May, 1952. 137

[89] Pächt (1999), 120

[90] Nash (2008), 67

[91] Pächt (1999), 132

[92] Charney (2010), 15

[93] Karl Voll, Die altniederländische Malerei von Jan van

Eyck bis Memling, 1906, p, 245

[94] Museum for Fine arts Ghent

[95] Charney (2010), x

[96] Charney (2010), 1

[97] Deam (1998), 3

[98] Reitlinger (1961), 130

[99] Kurtz, Michael J. (2006). America and the return of Nazi

contraband . Cambridge University Press. p. 25.

[100] Kurtz (2006), 132

References

• Ainsworth, Maryan Wynn. From Van Eyck to Bruegel: Early Netherlandish painting in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art . New York: Metropoli-tan Museum of Art, 1999. ISBN 0-300-08609-1

• Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eyck . London: Taschen,2008. ISBN 3-8228-5687-8

• Borchert, Till-Holger. Van Eych to Durer: TheInfluence of Early Netherlandish painting on Euro-

pean Art, 1430–1530. London: Thames & Hudson,

2011. ISBN 978-0-500-23883-7

• Boorman, Stanley (ed). Studies in the Performanceof Late Medieval Music. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 1983. ISBN 0-521-08831-3

• Burroughs, Bryson. “A Diptych by Hubert vanEyck”. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin,Volume 28, No. 11, Pt 1, November 1933.

• Campbell, Lorne. The Fifteenth-Century Netherlan-dish Paintings . London, National Gallery. NewHaven: Yale University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-300-07701-7

• Charney, Noah. Stealing the Mystic Lamb. NewYork: PublicAffairs. 2010. ISBN 1-58648-800-7

• Deam, Lisa. “Flemish versus Netherlandish: ADiscourse of Nationalism”. Renaissance Quarterly,Volume 51, No. 1, Spring 1998.

• Dhanens, Elisabeth. Hubert and Jan van Eyck . NewYork: Tabard Press. 1980. ISBN 0-914427-00-8

• Hammer, Karl. Secret of the sacred panel . London:Stacey international, 2010. ISBN 978-1-906768-45-4

• Harbison, Craig. “The Art of the Northern Renais-sance”. London: Laurence King Publishing, 1995.ISBN 1-78067-027-0

• Homa, Ramsay. “Jan van Eyck and the Ghent Altar-Piece”. The Burlington Magazine, volume 116, No.855, June 1974.

•

Honour, Hugh; Fleming, John. “A World Historyof Art”. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2005.ISBN 1-85669-451-8

• Jolly, Penny. “Jan van Eyck’s Italian Pilgrimage: AMiraculous Florentine Annunciation and the GhentAltarpiece”. Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte. 61.Bd., H. 3, 1998

• Kurtz, Michael. America and the return of Nazi con-traband . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,2004. ISBN 978-0-521-84982-1.

• Lane, Barbara. The Altar and the Altarpiece, Sacra-mental Themes in Early Netherlandish Painting.London: Harper & Row, 1984. ISBN 0-06-430133-8

• McNamee, W.B. “The Origin of the Vested Angelas a Eucharistic Symbol in Flemish Painting”. TheArt Bulletin, Volume 53, No. 3, September 1972.

• Nash, Susie. Northern Renaissance art . Ox-ford: Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN 0-19-284269-2

• The Oxford Art Online – Jan van Eyck //

• Pächt, Otto. Van Eyck and the Founders of EarlyNetherlandish Painting. 1999. London: HarveyMiller Publishers. ISBN 1-872501-28-1

• Reitlinger, Gerald. The Economics of Taste, Vol I: The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices 1760–1960. Lon-don: Barrie and Rockliffe, 1961.

• Ridderbos, Bernhard; van Buren, Anne; van Veen,Henk. Early Netherlandish paintings: Rediscovery,Reception and Research. Amsterdam: AmsterdamUniversity Press, 2004. ISBN 90-5356-614-7

• Schmidt, Peter. Het Lam Gods . Leuven: UitgeverijDavidsfonds, 2005. ISBN 90-77942-03-3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9077942033https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9053566147https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1872501281https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0192842692https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0192842692https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0064301338https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0064301338https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780521849821https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1856694518https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1780670270https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Harbisonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781906768454https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781906768454https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0914427008https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Dhanenshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1586488007https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0300077017https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0300077017https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorne_Campbell_(art_historian)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0521088313https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780500238837https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3822856878https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Till-Holger_Borcherthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0300086091https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_University_Presshttp://mskgent.be/enhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_and_Child_with_Canon_van_der_Paele


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18 9 EXTERNAL LINKS

• Seidel, Linda. “The Value of Verisimilitude in theArt of Jan van Eyck”. Yale French Studies : SpecialIssue: “Contexts: Style and Values in Medieval Artand Literature”, 1991. 25–43

• Snyder, James. “Jan van Eyck and Adam’s Apple”.

The Art Bulletin, Volume 58, No. 4, December1976.

• Wolff, Martha; Hand, John Oliver. Early Nether-landish painting. National Gallery of Art Washing-ton; Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-521-34016-0

• van Elslande, Rudy. De geschiedenis van de Vyt-Borluutfundatie en het Lam Gods, in: GhendtscheTydinghen, 14de jg., 1985, nr.6, blz. 342-348; Ibi-dem, 15de jg., 1986, nrs 1-6, blz. 56-58, 108-111, 168-171, 230-233, 282-284, 329-332; Ibidem,

16de jg., 1987, nrs.1-6, blz. 25-29, 102-105, 143-148, 201-204, 269-272, 335-349; Ibidem, 18de jg.,1989, nrs. 1-2, blz. 53-55, 95-99.

9 External links

• Closer to Van Eyck: Rediscovering the Ghent Al-tarpiece Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (Bel-gium). High resolution macrophotography, infraredreflectography and X-radiography of the Ghent Al-tarpiece.

• Website of the Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent (Bel-gium)

• The theft of the Just Judges

• An alternative interpretation of the iconography ofthe Ghent Altarpiece

• Hitler’s Hunt for the Holy Grail and the Ghent Al-tarpiece

http://www.aiwaz.net/ghent-altarpiece/c28http://www.aiwaz.net/ghent-altarpiece/c28http://judges.mysticlamb.net/http://users.skynet.be/sintbaafskathedraal-gent/EN_lamb.htmlhttp://users.skynet.be/sintbaafskathedraal-gent/EN_lamb.htmlhttp://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0521340160https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0521340160


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19

10 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

10.1 Text

• Ghent Altarpiece Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent%20Altarpiece?oldid=645527523 Contributors: Magnus Manske, Olivier,Infrogmation, Mihai, Zoicon5, Ed g2s, Donarreiskoffer, Robbot, Vinterlejon, Tom harrison, Fastfission, Solipsist, Falcon Kirtaran, Andy-cjp, JoJan, Davout, Ganymead, Kate, Beoran, Discospinster, Dbachmann, Stbalbach, Giraffedata, Man vyi, Gssq, Ricky81682, AzaToth,Yuckfoo, Ghirlandajo, Tabletop, Sparkit, SchuminWeb, Str1977, Gareth E Kegg, YurikBot, Wester, RussBot, David Pierce, Pietdesomere,JLaTondre, Attilios, SmackBot, Eskimbot, Kungming2, Alfion, Andropow, Seduisant, Ceoil, Gloriamarie, Bjankuloski06en, Sailko, MrStephen, Dartelaar, Tawkerbot2, Switchercat, CmdrObot, Ale jrb, Drinibot, Stuart Drewer, Outriggr, Cydebot, Xxanthippe, Epanalep-sis, Ludmiła Pilecka, Escarbot, Modernist, John85710, Geniac, Davidonline, JNW, EagleFan, Jonathan Hall, CommonsDelinker, Captainpanda, MTLskyline, Johnbod, Belovedfreak, Sparafucil, Classical geographer, Mcewan, TXiKiBoT, John Carter, Poopypoop88, SieBot,WereSpielChequers, Trigaranus, Yintan, WRK, Phil Bridger, Afernand74, Maralia, Prof saxx, Rlest, SlackerMom, Sfan00 IMG, PipepBot,Kafka Liz, EoGuy, UserDoe, SuperHamster, Auntof6, Arjayay, BOTarate, Truth is relative, understanding is limited, BodhisattvaBot, Ad-dbot, AkhtaBot, Fluffernutter, Ronkonkaman, Lightbot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Ptbotgourou, , Victoriaearle, Dickdock, AnomieBOT,Rubinbot, Citation bot, ArthurBot, Obersachsebot, Xqbot, DSisyphBot, Mattis, FrescoBot, BenzolBot, AstaBOTh15, MastiBot, Cru-soe8181, Dinamik-bot, Jfmantis, Breezeboy, EmausBot, The Mysterious El Willstro, PBS-AWB, St. Brigit, IIIraute, EWikist, Philafrenzy,Ruskinmonkey, ClueBot NG, Mannanan51, Helpful Pixie Bot, BG19bot, Hubert van eyck, Mhakes, Parajo, ChrisGualtieri, Khazar2,Dexbot, Mogism, Philipt8520, Cerabot, Elena Zabrodina, Animus93, Agric, Jodosma, MagicatthemovieS, Doewiets, Felderburg, Esspanol,Upjav and Anonymous: 88

10.2 Images• File:Anyell_místic-central-CatedralUtrecht.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Anyell_m%

C3%ADstic-central-CatedralUtrecht.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: derivated from Original artist: Jan van Scorel (over an original from Jan van Eyck)

• File:Cappella_bartolini_salimbeni,_annunciazione_di_lorenzo_monaco_01.JPG Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Cappella_bartolini_salimbeni%2C_annunciazione_di_lorenzo_monaco_01.JPG License: CC BY-SA 3.0 Contributors: Self-photographed Original artist: sailko

• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original

artist: ?• File:Eve_Ghent_van_Eyck(A).jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Eve_Ghent_van_Eyck%28A%29.

jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/ Original artist: Jan van Eyck

• File:Ghent_Adoration_detail_4.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Ghent_Adoration_detail_4.jpg Li-cense: Public domain Contributors: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WwQabuRU28Q/T1-N3SNn02I/AAAAAAAAClI/lxs_5PFvRWU/s1600/017.jpg Original artist: Jan van Eyck

• File:Ghent_Altarpiece_D_-_Fountain.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Ghent_Altarpiece_D_-_Fountain.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:

Original artist: Jan van Eyck (circa 1390–1441)

• File:Ghent_Altarpiece_D_-_Popes_-_detail.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Ghent_Altarpiece_D_-_Popes_-_detail.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:


• File:Ghent_Altarpiece_F_-_Archangel.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Ghent_Altarpiece_F_-_

Archangel.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Original artist: Jan van Eyck (circa 1390–1441)

• File:Ghent_Altarpiece_F_-_Maria_message_2.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Ghent_Altarpiece_F_-_Maria_message_2.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:


• File:Ghent_Altarpiece_G_-_Joos_Vijdt.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Ghent_Altarpiece_G_-_Joos_Vijdt.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:


• File:Ghent_Altarpiece_G_-_Lysbette_Borluut.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Ghent_Altarpiece_G_-_Lysbette_Borluut.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:


• File:Ghent_altarpiece_at_Altaussee.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Ghent_altarpiece_at_Altaussee.jpgLicense: ? Contributors:

NARAOriginal artist:

unknown (probably US military)

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20 10 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

• File:Hubert_van_Eyck_(1366–1426)_by_Edme_de_Boulonois.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Hubert_van_Eyck_%281366%E2%80%931426%29_by_Edme_de_Boulonois.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: This image isavailable from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3c21197.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information.

Original artist: Edme de Boulonois

• File:Hubert_van_Eyck_009.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Hubert_van_Eyck_009.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:

The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN

3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. Original artist: Hubert van Eyck (circa 1366-1426)

• File:Hubert_van_Eyck_015.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Hubert_van_Eyck_015.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:



• File:Hubert_van_Eyck_028.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Hubert_van_Eyck_028.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:



• File:Hubert_van_Eyck_034.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Hubert_van_Eyck_034.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:



• File:Jan_van_Eyck_-_The_Ghent_Altarpiece_-_Angels_Playing_Music_(detail)_-_WGA07

Documents

Ghent Altarpiece