Virgin Mary panel from the “Ghent Altarpiece”
This gorgeous oil on oak panel painting of the Virgin Mary is a panel from the “Ghent Altarpiece”, also known as “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”. This altarpiece was a joint effort by the Early Netherlandish artists, brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck. The altarpiece was made between the mid-1420s and 1432.
The Ghent Altarpiece is one of those works of art that critics say mark the transition from Medieval to the Renaissance style. The van Eyck brothers were trained in the Internation Gothic style, but their artistic styles and techniques developed, helping start the Early Netherlandish period in the 1420s, which was part of the Early Northern Renaissance. The paintings of Jan van Eyck are very realistic, finely detailed, and loaded with symbolism. Artists began to emulate his style.
The top row of the interior panels of the Ghent Altarpiece contains a Deësis, traditional iconography of Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. They themselves are flanked by angels playing instruments and singing. The outer panels depict Adam and Eve. The lower row of panels shows different groups of people, such as clergy men, soldiers, and women, walking towards an adoration of the Lamb of God, depicted in the central panel.
The Virgin Mary is in the central upper left panel on the interior side. She is seated and reading a book draped in a green cloth, known as a girdle book. Mary is wearing a richly embroidered deep blue robe. She is wearing a brilliant crown adorned with flowers and precious stones. The words in the arch above her read, “She is more beautiful than the sun and the army of the stars; compared to the light she is superior. She is truly the reflection of eternal light and a spotless mirror of God”.
This altarpiece was commissioned by the mayor of Ghent, Jodocus Vijd, a prominent merchant, and his wife, Lysbette. Their portraits adorn two of the back panels.
Hubert designed and built the overall structure of panels, with 12 interior panels and as many back panels. Hubert made these in the early 1420s but died in 1426 without finishing the commission. Jan van Eyck painted most of the panels in the altarpiece, even finishing panels that Hubert started. Jan painted between 1430 and 1432, finishing his brother’s commission. The altarpiece was completed May 6, 1432.
The Ghent Altarpiece is on display at Saint Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium.
For more on Jan van Eyck, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
