Ghent Altarpiece

The Ghent Altarpiece, also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, is a large fifteenth-century polyptych in St Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, begun around the mid-1420s and completed by 1432. It is attributed to the Early Netherlandish painters and brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck, with art historians generally agreeing that Hubert designed the overall structure before his death and that Jan, his younger brother, executed most of the panels. The altarpiece opens into two vertical registers: the upper register centers on a group of God flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, with music-making angels and the figures of Adam and Eve at the outer edges, while the lower register depicts a great gathering of saints, clergy, sinners and soldiers adoring the Lamb of God. It was commissioned by the Ghent merchant and mayor Jodocus Vijd and his wife Lysbette Borluut, and its installation was celebrated on 6 May 1432. It is regarded as a prominent example of the transition from medieval to Renaissance art and identified by some as the first major oil painting, and it remains in its original chapel, though its ornate original frame was destroyed during the Reformation. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/