The Ghent Altarpiece, also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (), is a very large and complex 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. It was begun around the mid-1420s and completed by 1432, and it is attributed to the Early Netherlandish painters and brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The altarpiece is a prominent example of the transition from Middle Age to Renaissance art and is considered a masterpiece of European art, identified by some as "the first major oil painting."
The panels are organised in two vertical registers, each with double sets of foldable wings containing inner and outer panel paintings. The upper register of the inner panels represents the heavenly redemption, and includes the central classical Deësis arrangement of God (identified either as Christ the King or God the Father), flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. They are flanked in the next panels by angels playing music and, on the far outermost panels, the figures of Adam and Eve. The central panel of the lower register shows a gathering of saints, sinners, clergy, and soldiers attendant at an adoration of the Lamb of God. There are several groupings of figures, overseen by the dove of the Holy Spirit. The four lower panels of the closed altar are divided into two pairs; sculptural grisaille paintings of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist, and on the two outer panels, donor portraits of Joost Vijdt and his wife Lysbette Borluut; in the upper row are the archangel Gabriel and the Annunciation, and at the very top are the prophets and sibyls. The altarpiece is one of the most renowned and important artworks in European history.
Art historians generally agree that the overall structure was designed by Hubert during or before the mid-1420s, probably before 1422, and that the panels were painted by his younger brother Jan. Yet, while generations of art historians have attempted to attribute specific passages to either brother, no convincing separation has been established;Burroughs (1933), 184 it may be that Jan finished panels begun by Hubert.
The altarpiece was commissioned by the merchant and Ghent mayor Jodocus Vijd and his wife Lysbette as part of a larger project for the Saint Bavo Cathedral chapel. Its installation was officially celebrated on 6 May 1432. Much later, for security reasons, it was moved to the principal cathedral chapel, where it remains.
Indebted to the International Gothic as well as Byzantine and Romanic traditions, the altarpiece represented a significant advancement in Western art, in which the idealisation of the medieval tradition gives way to an exacting observation of natureGombrich, E.H., The Story of Art, pages 236–9. Phaidon, 1995. and human representation. A now lost inscription on the frame stated that Hubert van Eyck maior quo nemo repertus (greater than anyone) started the altarpiece, but that Jan van Eyckcalling himself arte secundus (second best in the art)completed it in 1432.Burroughs, 184–193 The altarpiece is in its original location, while its original, very ornate, carved outer frame and surround, presumably harmonizing with the painted tracery, was destroyed during the Reformation; it may have included clockwork mechanisms for moving the shutters and even for playing music.
Attribution
Art historians broadly agree that the overall structure was designed and built by Hubert in the early 1420s, and that most of the panels paintings were completed by his younger brother Jan between 1430 and 1432. Yet there has been considerable debate, and many art historians, especially in the mid 20th century, attempted to attribute specific passages to either brother. However, no convincing separation of their contributions has been established. A now lost inscription on the frame stated 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)—completed it in 1432. The original, very ornate carved outer frame and surround, presumably harmonizing with the painted tracery, was destroyed during the Reformation; it may have included clockwork mechanisms for moving the shutters and even playing music.
Attribution to the van Eyck brothers is supported by the small amount of surviving documentary evidence attached to the commission, and from Jan's signature and dating on a reverse frame. Jan seems to minimize his contribution in favour of his brother, who died six years before the work's completion in 1432. A less explicit indicator is their seeming portraits as the third and fourth horsemen in the Just Judges panel. Ramsay Homa notes lettering in the central panel of the lower register that might be read as an early formation of what was to become van Eyck's well-known signature, built around various formations of (As I Can), a pun on his full name; and lettering is found on the headdress of one of the prophets standing at the back of the grouping. It is written in Hebrew script that roughly translates into French as Le chapeau ... orne de trois lettres herbraiques formant le mot Saboth, or more likely as "Yod, Feh, Aleph", which when transliterated represents Jan's initials, JvE.Homa (1974), 327
Since the 19th century, art historians have debated which passages are attributable to the unknown Hubert or internationally renowned Jan. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was often assumed that Jan had found unfinished panels left behind after Hubert's death and assembled them into the current format. This view has been discounted by more recent scholarship on the basis of the overall design of the work and given the obvious gaps in quality between many passages.Pächt, 214
It is generally accepted that the majority of the work was completed by Jan based on a design by Hubert, who probably oversaw the original design and construction of the panels. The difficulties are complicated by the fact that there is no surviving work confidently attributed to Hubert and it is thus impossible to detect his style. Instead, art historians compare individual passages to known works by Jan, looking for stylistic differences that may indicate the work of another hand. Advances in dendrochronology indicate that parts of the wing panels were felled around 1421. Allowing a seasoning time of at least 10 years, art historians assume a completion date well after Hubert's death in 1426, thus ruling out his hand from large portions of the wings.Nash (2008), 13
Style and technique
The polyptych differs in a number of aspects from the other paintings attributed to Jan van Eyck, not least in scale. It is the only one of his works intended for public, rather than private, worship and display.Harbison (Reaktion), 194 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 – are all painted with remarkable detail. The landscape is rich with vegetation, which is observed with an almost scientific accuracy, and much of it non-European.Pächt
Lighting is one of the major innovations of the polyptych. The panels contain complex light effects and subtle plays of shadow, the rendering of which was achieved through new techniques of handling both oil paint and transparent glazes. The figures are mostly cast with short, diagonal shadows which serve to, in the words of art historian Till-Holger Borchert, "not only heighten their spatial presence, but also tell us that the primary light source is located beyond the picture itself."Borchert (2011), 22–23 In the Annunciation scene, shadows imply that they emanate from the daylight within the chapel in which they are housed.Harbison (1995), 81 Further innovations can be found in the detailing of surface textures, especially in the reflections of light. These are best seen in light falling on the armour in the Knights of Christ panel, and the ripple of the water in the Fountain of life in the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb.Borchert (2011), 24
Open view The altarpiece was opened on feast days when the richness, colour and complexity of the inner panels was intended to contrast with the relative austerity of the outer panels. As viewed when open, the panels are organised along two registers (levels), and contain depictions of hundreds of figures. The upper level consists of seven monumental panels, each almost six feet high, and includes a large central image of Christ flanked by frames showing Mary (left) and John the Baptist (right), which contain over twenty inscriptions each referring to the figures in the central Deësis panels.Harbison (1995), 836
These panels are flanked by two pairs of images on the folding wings. The two panels closest to the Deësis show singers in heaven; the outermost pair show Adam and Eve, naked save for strategically placed leaves.Pächt (1999), 124 The lower register has a panoramic landscape stretching continuously across five panels. While the individual panels of the upper tier clearly contain separate—albeit paired—pictorial spaces, the lower tier is presented as a unified Mise en scène.Borchert (2011), 19 Of the 12 panels, eight have paintings on their reverse visible when the altarpiece is closed.
Upper register
Deësis The three central upper panels show a Deësis of monumental and enthroned figures, each with a halo. They are the Virgin Mary to the left, John the Baptist to the right and a central figure who may be either God or Christ – a distinction much debated amongst art historians. Theories include that the panel shows Christ in Majesty dressed in priestly vestments,Lane (1984), 109 God the Father, or the Holy Trinity amalgamated into a single person.Dhanens (1980), 106 The figure looks directly towards the viewer with his hand raised in blessing, in a panel filled with inscriptions and symbols. There are Greek inscriptions decorated with pearls on the hem of his mantle (possibly a cope, fastened by a bejewelled morse or clasp) which are from Revelation: ("King of Kings, and Lord of Lords").
The golden brocade on the throne features pelicans and vine, probable references to the blood spilled during the Crucifixion of Jesus. Pelicans were at the time believed to spill their own blood to feed their young. The vines allude to sacramental wine used to confect the Eucharist.Charney (2010), 31
An openwork crown is at his feet, and on either side the step is lined with two levels of text. The left hand upper line reads ("Life without death on his head"), that on the right ("Youth without age on his forehead"). These are placed above—on the left and right respectively—the words ("Joy without sorrow on his right side") and ("Safety without fear on his left side").Ridderbos et al. (2004), 48Pächt (1994), 129–130 On his head is another jewel-encrusted crown similar to the papal tiara or triregnum, with its white body, three tiers, green lappets, and monde with a cross on top.
Mary reads from a girdle book draped with a green cloth. A book is a normal attribute for Mary, as one of her titles is "Seat of Wisdom"Wadsworth (1995), 223 and this image might be based on the figure in Robert Campin's Virgin Annunciate. She wears an open crown adorned with flowers and stars and is dressed as a bride. The inscription above her arched throne reads: "She is more beautiful than the sun and the army of the stars; compared to the light she is superior. She is truly the reflection of eternal light and a spotless mirror of God".Dhanens (1980), 106–108
Like his aunt Mary, John the Baptist also holds a holy book – an unusual attribute; these are two of the 18 books in the entire piece. He wears a green mantle over a cilice of camel-hair, his usual attribute. He looks towards the Almighty in the centre panel, his hand also raised in blessing, uttering the words most typically attributed to him, ("Behold the Lamb of God").