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Completed in 1432 by brothers Jan and Hubert
van Eyck, the "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" is an altarpiece of
12 detailed panels that is widely considered one of the most
important pieces of early Renaissance art.
Over the centuries, various parts of it were painted over,
seized, hidden by the Nazis and later stolen again and it now
has a reinforced fire-proof glass housing as part of a 30
million euro ($35.4 million) revamp for visitors.
The city of Ghent planned to host Van Eyck year in 2020, with
all parts of the altarpiece returned to St Bavo's Cathedral
after restoration, but the pandemic pushed that into 2021.
Previously crammed into a small chapel near the cathedral
entrance, visitors used to listen to an audio guide while
viewing the work.
"It was decided we couldn't go on with a visitor experience like
that because it didn't match the virtuosity of the Van Eyck
brothers. There were often complaints about the display case,
the lighting etc," said visitor centre project leader Ben De
Vriendt.
Now visitors will pass through the crypt, with virtual reality
glasses and tablets revealing the panels' colourful 600-year
history, before reaching a single larger chapel to view the
altarpiece inside an acclimatised glass case.
The panels were partially painted over in a 1550 restoration,
survived the destruction of religious images which swept through
the Low Countries in 1566 and most double-sided ones were split
in the 19th century to separate the paintings.
They were taken by invading French and German forces in
different wars, ending up in an Austrian salt mine at the end of
World War Two.
Two panels were stolen in 1934 and only one recovered. The one
entitled "Just Judges" is a 1945 copy.
(Writing by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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