DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0476
FLANDERS
3M
PAINTING
The Ghent Altarpiece2 (Pl. 130 a), painted by the Van Eyck
brothers, Hubert (c. 1370-14x6 a.d.) and Jan (c. 1385-1440 a.d.),
is the culmination of a series of efforts on the part of a school
which had grown out of medieval miniature painting, long prac-
ticed by the Flemish with great success. In fact, when the Van
Eyck brothers were painting this altarpiece, Flemish miniature
painters at the court of the Duke of Burgundy were producing
such books as the Tres Riches Heures (Pl. 87 b). Let us look at the
large lower panel. In the center, in a meadow gay with violets,
lilies, daisies, and cowslips, stands the altar with the Lamb, from
whose heart flows a stream of blood into a chalice; around are
kneeling angels. In front is the fountain of life with the apostles
grouped about it, kneeling. Toward the center from the four cor-
ners great throngs of people approach, clad in rich robes, through
a country where rosebushes and vines are laden with flowers; in
the background stretches a varied landscape with richly wooded
hills, rivers, and towns, and above this an early-morning sky.
Over the altar appears a dove from which rays descend to all the
groups below. Here we have a powerful, poetical expression of
the medieval idea of the redemption of man, as sincere and majes-
tic as the account in the book of Revelation. The deep, glowing
colors in the trees and flowers, meadow, and landscape, in the
robes with rich embroideries, and in gold miters set with jewels,
deepen the emotional effect.
The same feeling is inspired by the figure of the Virgin in the
upper panel on the left. It is a majestic representation of the queen
of heaven, calm and tranquil. She is thoughtfully reading a book;
her hair falls loose over her shoulders; the elaborate crown is
jeweled with rubies, topaz, and pearls and decorated with roses,
lilies, and harebells, symbolic of her virtues; seven shining stars
scattered over the inscriptions of the arch form a super-crown;
her robe of richest blue is trimmed with an elaborately jeweled
border, each jewel painted with minute delicacy; behind her is a
panel of gold and black brocade. The soft texture of the hair,
the luster of the pearls, the gleam of the other jewels, in fact all
the details, are indicated with such finesse that one is almost led
away by them from the larger conception.
Taking the altarpiece as a whole, however, one is impressed
most by the grandeur and poetry of the conception, which are en-
hanced by the exquisite harmony of the rich jewel-like color. This
3 This altarpiece was commissioned of Hubert in 1415, left unfinished at his death in 1426,
and completed by Jan in 1432. It seems impossible to disentangle the work of the two brothers.
3M
PAINTING
The Ghent Altarpiece2 (Pl. 130 a), painted by the Van Eyck
brothers, Hubert (c. 1370-14x6 a.d.) and Jan (c. 1385-1440 a.d.),
is the culmination of a series of efforts on the part of a school
which had grown out of medieval miniature painting, long prac-
ticed by the Flemish with great success. In fact, when the Van
Eyck brothers were painting this altarpiece, Flemish miniature
painters at the court of the Duke of Burgundy were producing
such books as the Tres Riches Heures (Pl. 87 b). Let us look at the
large lower panel. In the center, in a meadow gay with violets,
lilies, daisies, and cowslips, stands the altar with the Lamb, from
whose heart flows a stream of blood into a chalice; around are
kneeling angels. In front is the fountain of life with the apostles
grouped about it, kneeling. Toward the center from the four cor-
ners great throngs of people approach, clad in rich robes, through
a country where rosebushes and vines are laden with flowers; in
the background stretches a varied landscape with richly wooded
hills, rivers, and towns, and above this an early-morning sky.
Over the altar appears a dove from which rays descend to all the
groups below. Here we have a powerful, poetical expression of
the medieval idea of the redemption of man, as sincere and majes-
tic as the account in the book of Revelation. The deep, glowing
colors in the trees and flowers, meadow, and landscape, in the
robes with rich embroideries, and in gold miters set with jewels,
deepen the emotional effect.
The same feeling is inspired by the figure of the Virgin in the
upper panel on the left. It is a majestic representation of the queen
of heaven, calm and tranquil. She is thoughtfully reading a book;
her hair falls loose over her shoulders; the elaborate crown is
jeweled with rubies, topaz, and pearls and decorated with roses,
lilies, and harebells, symbolic of her virtues; seven shining stars
scattered over the inscriptions of the arch form a super-crown;
her robe of richest blue is trimmed with an elaborately jeweled
border, each jewel painted with minute delicacy; behind her is a
panel of gold and black brocade. The soft texture of the hair,
the luster of the pearls, the gleam of the other jewels, in fact all
the details, are indicated with such finesse that one is almost led
away by them from the larger conception.
Taking the altarpiece as a whole, however, one is impressed
most by the grandeur and poetry of the conception, which are en-
hanced by the exquisite harmony of the rich jewel-like color. This
3 This altarpiece was commissioned of Hubert in 1415, left unfinished at his death in 1426,
and completed by Jan in 1432. It seems impossible to disentangle the work of the two brothers.