The Genius of Jan Van Eyck

The Flemish artist Jan Van Eyck (circa 1390-1441) is celebrated in the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium, with an exhibit “Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution” until April 30, 2020. The Wall Street Journal features an essay, “’An Optical Revolution’: Truer than Life,” by Judith Dobrzynski. She notes that the Ghent altarpiece, with the central panel still in restoration, remains in the Saint Bavo Cathedral nearby. “The restoration of the main panel revealed, among other things, the original human-like facial features of the mystical Lamb of God, particularly his eyes…”

One may consult the large book by Fabrici Hadjadj, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb: The Ghent Altarpiece, Painted by Jan and Hubert Van Eyck (New York: Magnificat, 2015), for a careful study of this multi-faceted painting.

On the Museum’s website the description of the exhibit is limited. See www.mskgent.be/en/exhibitions/van-eyck.

However we may also enjoy zoomable images at closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/ and at the Van Eyck page of the Google Art project at artsandculture.google.com/entity/m0ck2w.

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