Adoration of the Mystic Lamb

Saint Bavo’s cathedral in Ghent is home to one of the best examples of artistic altarpieces still in existence.

Let me say that it was one of the most incredible altarpieces that I have had the pleasure of viewing. It was restored in 2020 so the colors were as vibrant today as when it was originally painted.

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 piece was intricate and was full of symbolism and iconic images. Additionally there were about 40 people in the piece and each one was a really person and each was identifiable by their features of by the items that they carried. One of the priests had a tongue on a rope around his neck. It was his own tongue that had been ripped from his mouth because he was preaching the Bible! But it made him identifiable in the painting.

Any art located in Belgium and painted 600 years ago has had an interesting life. One bit is that the original had Adam and Eve naked. As modesty ideas changed naked Adam and Eve were replaced with clothes Adam and Eve. But the original naked was kept! The cathedral displayed it in its original form, with the clothed version on a different floor.

During WW II the art was scooped up by Hitlers army and stored in the salt caves. Ultimately, and recovered, in the nick of time, my the American Monument Men. Made famous in the recent movie.

In 2024, the cathedral improved the viewers understanding of the Mystic Lamb with a virtual reality presentation. The VR was incredible in its detail and because of it I knew more about the piece when I actually viewed it. The VR was a great technique and one I think more museums and gallery’s need to take advantage of.

This is another must see in the city of Ghent. But take a tissue as its beauty might just bring a tear to your eye, I for one am glad I had one.Les mer