'Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution' at the MSK Ghent and the Ghent Altarpiece

If you're interested in 15th Century painting, particularly Flemish painting, then the big exhibition to visit at the moment is in Ghent, Belgium, with panels from the newly restored Ghent Altarpiece at the heart of the exhibition. The Ghent Altarpiece is documented as being by Hubert and Jan Van Eyck - it's the only known work by Hubert and there are about 20 known works by Jan, half of which are in this exhibition, the biggest ever exhibition of his works. So it's mandatory to attend.

It's easy enough to get to Ghent from Brussels, only a half an hour train ride with frequent trains. The exhibition is in the Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) which is a 15 minutes stroll from the railway station. I went there on a Wednesday and it was incredibly busy so it's probably best to book your ticket in advance online. An audioguide in various languages is included in the price of the ticket. Photos are not allowed so I've added images found on the web to illustrate this blog along with a few of my own photos.

The exhibition opens with some context setting with a timeline of the life of Jan Van Eyck (or what is known about him) and the world he lived in. There are video walls, exhibits of the kinds of objects shown in his paintings (like candlesticks), lots of illuminated manuscripts in books of various sizes in glass cases throughout the exhibition, statues of angels and text on the walls. There are also works by other contemporary artists from the North but also some from the Italian Renaissance, particularly from Florence.

In the early rooms there are copies of the Ghent Altarpiece by other artists, a series of lovely small paintings by Christian Schultz from 1865 (that are on loan from the V&A in London) and much bigger copies of some of the panels by Michael Coxcie from 1557-58 on loan from the Alte Pinakotek in Munich (where I saw the panels of the Virgin and John the Baptist last year, photo above) and elsewhere.

The centrepiece of the exhibition are the exterior panels from the Ghent Altarpiece (that is, what you see when the Altarpiece is closed) and the panels of Adam and Eve from the interior of the Altarpiece. These are placed around the exhibition in different themed rooms.

I'd never seen the Ghent Altarpiece before. It's kept in a huge glass case in St Bavo's Cathedral in the centre of Ghent and this is a rare occasion when the panels have been removed for an exhibition. With that in mind it was very exciting to be able to get up close to the panels and look at them so closely since they're normally at quite a distance from the viewer in the cathedral. The restoration has cleaned away centuries of dirt and varnish to reveal the Altarpiece in all it's glory and the real Adam and Eve in all their pale nakedness.

Adam looks almost as if he's walking forward, with his right foot raised slightly above the edge of the painting, like he's going to step out of it. It's also odd to notice that he has slightly hairy legs with a covering of fine hair (which you'd never guess from looking at reproductions). Eve is more static and has the rounded stomach that was fashionable at the time. Something that really stood out for me was the realism of Adam's face, the sheer detail that suggests a portrait of a real model rather that a generic face on top of a generic body. I wonder who he was?

One thing I got ridiculously excited about was being at the right height to be able to look through the windows of the Virgin's room in the 'Annunciation' panels, something that would be impossible to do when you see the Altarpiece in the cathedral since it's raised up high.

Peering through the windows I could see tiny buildings with the stepped fronts you can see around Belgium and especially in the buildings in Bruges. There were also tiny marks that could've been people on the street in front of the buildings but I couldn't make them out very well. I need to find close-up images of this window - there must be some somewhere. It's astonishing that so much detail was added to the Altarpiece, particularly when no-one would ever really be close enough to see it when it was in situ in the cathedral. That's what I call dedication.

There was a delicate small Crucifixion attributed to Jan Van Eyck and Workshop showing a simple scene set in a landscape. The painting is light and airy with Van Eyck imagining what the Holy Land might've looked like with its sparse vegetation and almost sun-bleached sky. The depiction of Jerusalem in the distance is rather imaginative as are the strange trees, with Van Eyck showing a place he'd never seen.

It was about here in the exhibition that I realised you have to look carefully at the signs beside each exhibit to check which was a Van Eyck and which was related to him in some way. The signs have his name in large letters but, in much small letters, adds 'and workshop' or 'after' to attribute the work to the workshop or a follower. It's all clear but you do have to look at the signage rather than just glance.

It was great to see both versions of Jan Van Eyck's 'St Francis Receiving the Stigmata' hanging side by side, the larger one (about 12" x 14") from Turin and the smaller one (about 4' x 5") from Philadelphia. They're almost identical paintings but the difference in size is really noticeable. The face of the saint is very realistic as he kneels in a rocky wilderness for the Seraph to beam down he stigmata of Christ. It's incredibly detailed and is a lovely little painting. I don't know why but I preferred the tiny Philadelphia version, probably because it is so small but lacks none of the detail of the larger version.

Hanging next to the two versions of St Francis was another version, this time by Fra Angelico. a small panel in a rather plain modern wooden frame. It's a simple painting with a simple story. The details of the rocks and landscape aren't important to the Fra, the Seraph delivering the stigmata is what matters and that is front and centre in the painting - it's the story that matters rather than the detail of the painting. It looks like it was probably one of the predella paintings along the bottom of a much larger altarpiece (I'll need to do my homework to find out which one). I don't recall ever seeing this particular panel before so it was a delight to see it.

I smiled when I saw the next painting by Van Eyck, his rather strange 'St Barbara'. I've seen this painting many times since, until recently, it was on loan from Antwerp to the National Gallery in London and hung on the wall beside 'The Arnolfini Portrait' and 'Portrait of a Man (Self-Portrait?)' by Van Eyck. Very little is known about the work - is it meant to look like this? is it unfinished? is it a preparatory drawing for a larger work?

It's a delicate little piece showing a rather large St Barbara sitting in front of a cathedral in the distance, with people going about their daily lives behind her. It's displayed in a glass case so you can also see the back of the small panel. I like to think that the painting is meant to look like this and that Mr Van Eyck was experimenting. It lacks none of the detail you'd expect from a Van Eyck work, it just doesn't have the jewel-like colour we've come to expect from him.

Further along is another painting with a difference from Van Eyck, his beautiful little 'Annunciation Diptych' on loan from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection in Madrid (where I took this photo). It's an example of grisaille work, i.e. painted statues with shadows and everything. The painting shows Gabriel in one panel with the Virgin and the dove of the holy spirit in the other. It's quite small and that makes the detail of the folds in the drapery even more impressive.

This technique was also used on a much bigger scale in the outer panels of the Ghent Altarpiece with St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist.

The two St Johns feature so prominently since the cathedral was originally dedicated to St John and the donors were closely associated with the church. The donors were Joos Vijd and Elizabeth Borluut who are shown kneeling and life-sized in their old age when the altarpiece was commissioned. Their panels are thought to have been painted last in around 1431-2. 

There were two gorgeous small paintings titled 'Madonna at the Fountain' that looked identical to me but one was attributed to Jan Van Eyck and dated 1439 and the other to Jan Van Eyck and Workshop and dated as c.1440. Jan's 'solo' version has the inscription 'As I Can' (his motto) on the battered old frame, suggesting it's the original frame. It shows the Virgin with a playful Child in a garden with two angels holding an ornate cloth behind the Virgin while she stands beside the fountain of life. The detail is incredible and I loved the colours of the angels wings. The ground is covered in tiny flowers and the backdrop is a hedge of pink and red roses. I suspect the term 'jewel-like' was invented specifically for this painting.

The penultimate room in the exhibition is dedicated to portraits and there are several by Van Eyck here since he was a renowned portrait painter. My second favourite was a painting of Jan de Leeuw, a young goldsmith who, it seems, Van Eyck knew. He's holding a ring as a symbol of his craft. Once again, it's the sheer realism of the face that's quite astonishing - change the hat and the coat and he could be the driver on the bus you got on yesterday. My favourite portrait? Why, the portrait of Margaret Van Eyck, Jan's wife, of course.

It's a lovely portrait showing Margaret with her trendy hair style and the astonishing lace head-dress. In my head I'd imagined this exhibition hanging Margaret together with the portrait thought to be a self-portrait of Jan side by side in a position of honour but that remains on the wall of the National Gallery in London. Such a shame and a missed opportunity.

There are, of course, many other paintings on show in the exhibition, both by Jan Van Eyck, his workshop and followers and by other great artists. As well as Fra Angelico's 'St Francis' there's also his lovely panel of the 'Scenes from the Life of St Nicholas of Bari', two small paintings by Masaccio, paintings by Benozzo Gozzoli, Paolo Uccello, Gerard David and Quinten Massijs (opposite) as well as others. It's a great exhibition and certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity to see so many works by Jan Van Eyck in the same place at the same time. 

A few observations: most of the works are small so you need to get up close to see the detail and that often means waiting your turn - be patient. It was very busy when I was there so choose your time carefully to enjoy the exhibition at your own pace. To use the audioguide you need to get close to the download points on the walls near the exhibits so get used to people leaning across you to get close enough and get used to being surrounded by 'beeps' as each download happens (can the 'beeps' be turned off somehow?).

It's a great exhibition and a great opportunity to get up close to some of the Altarpiece panels. If you are only even vaguely interested in 15th Century paintings then this is the exhibition for you.

Of course, I couldn't visit this exhibition and not go to St Bavo's Cathedral to see the interior panels of the Ghent Altarpiece in all their restored glory. It's easy to get to the Cathedral from the Museum, basically just keep walking up the same road in a vague straight line for about 30 minutes and you're there. Inside the Cathedral look to your left for a little ticket booth and pay €4 for a ticket and then step into a small room and there it is in front of you, once of the great wonders of European art. There was a small queue when I was there so I suspect the queue is much longer in holiday season. The Altarpiece is in a giant glass box raised up about four feet to give the impression of what it would look like on an altar - this means that you're looking up at the panels and can't get very close to see details (getting close was one of the joys of the exhibition). Photography isn't allowed but in the other wing of the cathedral is a great little gift shop with loads of images of the altarpiece and a great selection of books.

It was a strange experience to see the Altarpiece, standing shoulder to shoulder with others in a cold, small, crowded room, people jostling for a better view with quiet chatter and the tinny sounds from the audioguides some visitors hired. Not the greatest atmosphere in which to see such a wonder but it was a joy to see it after all these years. I swear the top three panels of Jesus, Mary and John were glowing as the angels sang and played their instruments. I loved the faces of the angels, some looking less than enthusiastic in their adoration, one looking down to follow the words from the song sheet, one peering out at the viewer - what a wonderful collection of attitudes and faces.

I waited patiently to be able to move closer to the centre to get a proper look at the face of the lamb on the altar in the middle of the lower, central panel ('The Adoration of the Lamb') since much has been said about the strangely humanoid face and eyes that came to light as the painting was cleaned and restored. I couldn't get close enough to see the detail of the face but those eyes definitely looked strange.

Here is the altarpiece in all its glory - the figures of Adam and Eve are almost life-sized so that gives you an indication of the size of the work. I'm so pleased that I was able to see the exhibition and then the Altarpiece.