Ghent Altarpiece
Type:
Altarpieces
Date:
1432
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Belgium
Medium:
Oil painting,
Wood
Dimensions:
open 3.75 × 5.2 m,
closed 3.75 × 2.60 m,
Lamb of God panel 1.34 × 2.37 m
Description:
The multipanel altarpiece in the St. Bavo Cathedral (formerly the church of St. John) in Ghent was painted in oil on oak by brothers Hubert (d. 1426) and Jan van Eyck (d. 1441). It was completed in 1432. The lower left panel, stolen in 1934, has been replaced with a copy. Recent restoration removed areas of later overpainting and varnish that obscured the bright fifteenth-century colors.
When the altarpiece is closed, the two saints John (the Baptist and Evangelist) are depicted in grisaille in the lower center. They are flanked by a kneeling man and woman, the wealthy Ghent merchant Joos Viid (or Vijd) and his wife, Elisabeth Borluut. These figures are life-size, larger than the saints. Above them is the Annunciation scene, with the medieval Ghent townscape visible through an arched opening. At the top are pagan and Jewish figures who, according to Christians, had prophesied the coming of Christ.
When opened, the focus of the lower register is the central panel showing the Lamb of God being adored by angels, saints, and popes, with the fountain of life in the foreground. The recent restoration revealed that the human-looking eyes of the Agnus Dei look out toward the viewer. In the adjacent panels others come to worship the Lamb, including knights, hermits, and male pilgrims led by an oversized St. Christopher (lower right). In the upper zone, not yet restored, an enthroned deity—wearing a papal tiara—is flanked by Mary and John the Baptist, music-making angels, and Adam and Eve as life-size nudes. Adam's toes show him stepping out of his pictorial space. (In the nineteenth century these naked figures were replaced by fur-clad ones, since removed.)
The childless Joos Viid and his wife commissioned the altarpiece for their private chapel, which was consecrated on May 6, 1432. A Latin inscription at the base of the closed panels reads, "The painter Hubert van Eyck, than whom none was greater, began this work. Jan, second in art, completed it at the request of Jodocus [Joos] Viid on the sixth of May [1432, indicated by letters in red]. He begs you by means of this verse to take care of what came into being."
When the altarpiece is closed, the two saints John (the Baptist and Evangelist) are depicted in grisaille in the lower center. They are flanked by a kneeling man and woman, the wealthy Ghent merchant Joos Viid (or Vijd) and his wife, Elisabeth Borluut. These figures are life-size, larger than the saints. Above them is the Annunciation scene, with the medieval Ghent townscape visible through an arched opening. At the top are pagan and Jewish figures who, according to Christians, had prophesied the coming of Christ.
When opened, the focus of the lower register is the central panel showing the Lamb of God being adored by angels, saints, and popes, with the fountain of life in the foreground. The recent restoration revealed that the human-looking eyes of the Agnus Dei look out toward the viewer. In the adjacent panels others come to worship the Lamb, including knights, hermits, and male pilgrims led by an oversized St. Christopher (lower right). In the upper zone, not yet restored, an enthroned deity—wearing a papal tiara—is flanked by Mary and John the Baptist, music-making angels, and Adam and Eve as life-size nudes. Adam's toes show him stepping out of his pictorial space. (In the nineteenth century these naked figures were replaced by fur-clad ones, since removed.)
The childless Joos Viid and his wife commissioned the altarpiece for their private chapel, which was consecrated on May 6, 1432. A Latin inscription at the base of the closed panels reads, "The painter Hubert van Eyck, than whom none was greater, began this work. Jan, second in art, completed it at the request of Jodocus [Joos] Viid on the sixth of May [1432, indicated by letters in red]. He begs you by means of this verse to take care of what came into being."
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
10
Repository and Online Resources:
• Explore the Ghent Altarpiece and its restoration on the "Closer to Van Eyck" website, and zoom in to details.
• Watch a video about the removal of overpainting here.
• Learn more about the work on the Khan Academy website.
• Read about Joos Viid on the website "Joos: To Infinity and Beyond."
Image Credits:
"Closer to Van Eyck" website, http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/
