Ghent Altarpiece

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Opened view of the polyptych

Closed view

The Ghent Altarpiece or Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (Dutch: Het Lam Gods or The Lamb of God) (completed 1432) is a very large and complex polyptych panel painting which used to be in the Joost Vijdt chapel at Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium, but was later replaced for security reasons to another part of the cathedral. Commissioned by the wealthy merchant and financier Joost Vijdt, it was executed by Hubert and Jan van Eyck.

The altarpiece consists of twelve panels in two rows, eight of which painted on both sides. The upper row on the front shows Christ the King surrounded by the Blessed Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. The insides of the wings represent angels singing and making music, and on the outside Adam and Eve. The lower part of the front panel shows the adoration of the Lamb of God, with people streaming in to worship, overseen by the dove representing the Holy Spirit. On week days the panels were closed, showing the Annunciation of Mary and portraits of Joost Vijdt and his wife Lysbette Borluut.

There used to be a notice on the altar stating that Hubert van Eyck "maior quo nemo repertus" (greater than anyone) started the altarpiece, but that Jan van Eyck - calling himself "arte secundus" (second best in the art) - finished it in 1432.

The original lower left panel known as The Just Judges was stolen in 1934. The original panel has never been found and has been replaced by a copy made in 1945 by Jef Vanderveken.

1 Upper front panels
2 Lower front panels
3 Back panels
- 3.1 Annunciation
- 3.2 Joos Vijdt and Lysbette Borluut
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Upper front panels

[edit] Three central figures

The three central upper panels show the Virgin Mary to the left and John the Baptist to the right, but the identity of the central figure is ambiguous and has led to much debate. It clearly contains elements traditionally referring to Christ, but other elements clearly refer to God the Father. It seems likely that Van Eyck wanted to paint a character that identifies as both Christ and the Father, which was not common in Medieval or Gothic painting.

the Virgin Mary

God the Father / Jesus

John the Baptist

[edit] Singing angels

Surrounding the three figures in the center are angels making music and singing. The clothes, the instruments and the floor are shown in remarkable detail. In that time, hymnals had instructions on which faces to make when hitting certain notes, and through close study, art historians have been able to identify which notes each angel was singing. Even the organ, where Saint Cecilia sits, was painted in such detail that modern musicologists were able to recreate a working copy of the organ.

Angels

Angels - detail

[edit] Adam & Eve, Cain and Abel

The upper front panels on the sides show Adam and Eve (to the left and right respectively), both facing the figures in the center. They are covering themselves with a leaf and Eve is holding a fruit that is not, in fact, the traditional apple but is a small citrus known as an Adam's Apple Garden of Eden. Adam seems to be walking out of the picture, giving it a three-dimensional look.

Above them are depictions of Abel making a sacrifice of the first lamb of his flock to God and Cain presenting part of his crops as a farmer to the Lord, and the murder of Abel by his brother Cain with an ass's jawbone because, according to the Bible, Cain was jealous of the Lord's acceptance of Abels offering over Cain's. Van Eyck makes the paintings look like statues, giving depth to the picture.

In the puritan 19th century the naked representations of Adam and Eve were considered unacceptable and the panels were replaced by dressed reproductions, which are still on display in the cathedral outside the Vijdt chapel.

Dressed reproduction of Adam and Eve

Sacrifices made by Abel and Cain

Murder of Abel by Cain

Adam

Eve

[edit] Lower front panels

[edit] Lower center panel

The lower front panels show the adoration of the Lamb of God, with people streaming in from all sides to worship the lamb. From the sky a dove, representing the Holy Spirit, illuminates the scene. The lamb is surrounded by fourteen angels. In the foreground the fountain of life is flowing into a small river, its bottom covered with jewels.

In the foreground to the left, we see a group of Jewish scholars holding the Holy Book. Behind them are the heathens, who have come from all over the world as can be seen by their oriental faces and different types of hats and caps. The figure in white is probably Virgil, who was sometimes seen as a Christian avant-la-lettre. To the right we see the twelve apostles, and behind them saints and popes. We recognize among others Saint Stephen, carrying the rocks he was stoned with.

In the background we see the martyrs, men to the left and women to the right, all carrying the martyr's palm. Some of the women are recognizable by the objects they are carrying.

Clergy

Heathens and Jews

The adoration of the lamb

Women

Popes and bishops

[edit] Lower side panels

Next to the central panel we see more groups of people. The two panels to the left show the "Just Judges" and the "Knights of Christ". On the right we see the hermits and the pilgrims, among which the giant Saint Christopher, patron saint of the traveler.

The lower panel at the far left, The Just Judges, was stolen in 1934. Although several people have claimed to know the whereabouts, it was never retrieved and is now believed to be destroyed. It was replaced by a 1945 copy from the hand of Jef Vanderveken.

Copy of the Just Judges by Jef Vanderveken

The Knights of Christ

The Hermits

The Pilgrims

[edit] Detail

Van Eyck pays as much attention to the beauty of earthly things as to the religious themes. The clothes and jewels, the fountain, nature surrounding the scene, the churches and landscape in the background, everything is painted with remarkable detail. The landscape shows an enormous richness in vegetation, much of it non-European.

A church in the left top corner of the lower center panel

Churches in the right top corner of the lower center panel

Horizon of the "Hermits" panel

Dozens of identifiable flowers are depicted

[edit] Back panels

[edit] Annunciation

The upper panels show the annunciation of Mary. To the left we see the message of the archangel Gabriel, to the right the answer given by Mary (which is written upside-down). There has been speculation as to whether the view from the window was the view from Van Eyck's workplace in Ghent; this could give us an idea where Van Eyck lived or worked.