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Ghent Altarpiece
The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (Ghent Altarpiece) is a giant multi-panel oil masterpiece by the brothers Jan and Hubert van Eyck, completed in Ghen…
Timeline
- 1430–1432Ghent · GhentThe van Eyck brothers completed this giant oil altarpiece in Ghent, using multiple transparent glazes and extreme detail to depict cityscapes, fabrics, and figures, pushing the Flemish tradition of realism to new heights.
- 1432–1440Vijd Chapel in St Bavo's Cathedral · GhentThe work was sponsored by Jodocus Vijd and his wife Elisabeth Borluut, and installed in a dedicated chapel within the cathedral, becoming Ghent's most important focus of religious art and an object of pilgrimage and viewing.
- 1435–1440Flanders and Burgundian court circles · FlandersThe altarpiece's exquisite realism and oil-painting language quickly won the admiration of the Burgundian ducal court and painters everywhere, driving the trend toward realism in northern portraiture and religious painting in the 1430s–1440s.
Sources
- The Ghent Altarpiece — Jan van Eyck (1432) https://www.visitgent.be/en/see-do/sights/the-ghent-altarpiece
- Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution — Maximiliaan Martens (2020)