The Ghent Altarpiece (open)
1432 · Oil on oak panels · St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent
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About this work
- Artist
- Hubert and Jan van Eyck (c. 1390–1441)
- Year
- 1432
- Medium
- Oil on oak panels
- Original size
- 350 × 461 cm (open)
- Collection
- St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent
- Movement
- Northern Renaissance
The opened altarpiece has two registers of panels. Above, a figure of God enthroned in red is flanked by the Virgin and John the Baptist, then by choirs of singing and music-making angels, and at the outer edges by Adam and Eve. Below, a single continuous landscape runs across five panels: at the centre, groups of prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs and virgins converge on the Lamb of God on an altar, while judges, knights, hermits and pilgrims approach on the wings. Ghent merchant Joos Vijd and his wife Lysbette Borluut commissioned it for their chapel in the church now St Bavo's Cathedral, where it was installed on 6 May 1432. An inscription credits Hubert van Eyck, who died in 1426, with beginning it and Jan with completing it. It has been taken to Paris, partly sold to Berlin, seized by the Nazis and recovered from the Altaussee salt mine in 1945; the Just Judges panel, stolen in 1934, is still missing and is replaced by a copy. A restoration finished in 2020 uncovered the Lamb's original face. It is in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
The opened altarpiece of many arched panels, deep red, green and gold, with a sunlit meadow at its base, for a large living room, hallway or study at 24×36 in black. A deep green, warm stone or charcoal wall; it pairs with The Garden of Earthly Delights.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Northern Renaissance painting
- Era
- 15th century (1432)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- grand
- Rooms
- living room, hallway or entryway, study or library, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Ghent Altarpiece (The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb), open in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Ghent Altarpiece (The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb), open painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
