Northern Realism: van Eyck, van der Weyden, and Bosch

The Ghent Altarpiece, formally titled the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, is the supreme achievement of Early Netherlandish painting and one of the most technically accomplished works of the entire Renaissance. Completed in 1432 for the church of Saint Bavo in Ghent, an inscription on its frame credits the work jointly to Hubert van Eyck, described as the greater painter, who began it, and his brother Jan van Eyck, who completed it. This large polyptych, its wings capable of opening and closing to reveal different scenes, centers on a panel showing the Lamb of God on an altar in a lush, minutely detailed landscape, adored by ranks of saints, martyrs, and clergy converging from all directions, while other panels depict Adam and Eve, singing and music-making angels, and, on the outer wings, an Annunciation scene. The astonishing precision of its detail, from individual blades of grass to the jewels on the angels' robes, exemplifies the Netherlandish commitment to rendering the visible world with near-total fidelity, understood by its makers as itself a form of religious devotion, since every created thing was believed to reflect divine craftsmanship. The altarpiece's fame, and its value as a symbol of Flemish civic and religious identity, is reflected in the extraordinary history of thefts and attempted recoveries it has suffered over the centuries, including during both world wars.