Ghent Altarpiece Ghent Altarpiece The Ghent Altarpiece (or the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, ) is a very large and complex 15th-century polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, Belgium. It is attributed to the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck, who were Early Flemish painters. It is considered a masterpiece of European art and one of the world's treasures. The panels are organised in two vertical registers, each with double sets of foldable wings containing inner and outer panel paintings. The upper register of the inner panels form the central Deësis of Christ the King, Virgin Mary and John the Baptist.
Early Netherlandish painting time. That hinged works could be opened and closed served a practical purpose; on religious holidays the more prosaic and everyday outer panels were replaced by the lush interior panels. The "Ghent Altarpiece", completed in 1432, had different configurations for weekdays, Sundays and church holidays. The first generation of Netherlandish masters borrowed many customs from 13th- and 14th-century Italian altarpieces. The conventions for Italian triptychs before 1400 were quite rigid. In central panels the mid-ground was populated by members of the Holy Family; early works, especially from the Sienese or Florentine traditions, were overwhelmingly characterised by images of the enthroned