Who painted this? #23

It's another lamb!  OK - so sometimes I lack imagination!

This time instead of being a tiny part of a huge painting, this is a study - a drawing for a painting - but by who - and when?

Who painted this? #23

How to participate in "Who painted this? #23"

PLEASE make sure you read the rules before posting a comment - and ONLY POST ON THIS BLOG what you think is the answer.

Click this link to read THE RULES for participating in this challenge (this saves having to copy them out for each post!).

In short:

• use your brains not software to find the answer
• search using words only on a database of images
• leave your answer as a comment on this blog
• if correct it will not be published until the next post - which provides the answer
• if wrong it will be published
• do not leave the answer on Facebook!
• the winner - who gets a mention and a link on/from this blog - is the first person to give me a completely correct answer for ALL the things I want to know

Who Painted This #22 - The Answer

Lamb of God
Part of the lower central panel of
The Ghent Altarpiece: Adoration of the Lamb

• Title of the artwork: The Ghent Altarpiece: Adoration of the Lamb
• Name of the artist who created this artwork: Jan van Eyck (c. 1390 - c. 1341)
• Date it was created: between 1425 and 1429
• Media used: oil on panel; Height: 137.7 cm (54.2 in). Width: 242.3 cm (95.4 in).
• Where it lives now: Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent

As you can see the Lamb of God forms a very small part of the Ghent Altarpiece.

The whole painting was started and probably designed by Hubert van Eyck.  However he died and the majority of it is thought to have been painted by his younger brother Jan van Eyck.

The Wikipedia page about The Ghent Altarpiece provides a very detailed explanation of all the panels

The Ghent Altarpiece: Adoration of the LambJan van Eyck (c. 1390 - c. 1341)

"Hubrecht van Eyck, the most famous painter ever known, started this work of art; his brother Jan, who was second in the art, finished the task at the request of Joos Vijd. With this verse the donor consigns the work to your charge on May 6th 1432. Admire what they have done for you".(Free translation of the quatrain on the polyptych)

What's very important about the Ghent Altarpiece is that it is one of the "great masterpieces of Western Civilisation" and is frequently cited as the first painting of the Renaissance.  It forms part of the story of oil painting.  The way Van Eyck rendered the subjects - including the use of transparent glazes - represented a new technique for the handling of oil paint

Those who would like to see The Ghent Altarpiece which the lamb is part of need look no further than Andrew Graham Dixon's new series of The High Art of the Low Countries - available to see on iPlayer or repeated on BBC4

Starting his journey at the magnificent altarpiece of Ghent Cathedral created by the Van Eyck brothers, Andrew explains their groundbreaking innovation in oil painting and marvels at how the colours they obtained can still remain so vibrant today.

It's the most important painting in Belgium and is undergoing a major restoration at a cost of more than 1m euros (£800,000; $1.3m).  This page on the Getty website tells you about some of the restoration processes.  What is unique is that the restoration process was carried out int the cathedral itself.

It now resides behind bullet proof glass in a secure place within Ghent Cathedral.

You can find out more about the painting and its restoration from the following:

• Closer to Van Eyck: Rediscovering the Ghent Altarpiece - view the Altarpiece in incredible close-up due to new high resolution photography
• Belgium's Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage - Follow the restoration of the Ghent Altarpiece! (2012 - 2017)
• Codart - The Ghent Altarpiece in 100 billion pixels: unprecedented Imaging Project supported by the Getty Foundation reveals master work in minute detail — online
• New York Times / ArtsBeat - Ghent Altarpiece Gets Own Interactive Web Site
• BBC - Million-euro makeover for Belgium's Ghent Altarpiece

It has been stolen at least six times, looted in three different wars, held for ransom, sold illegally and part of it is still missing.

• ArtInfo: Irresistible: How the Ghent Altarpiece Became the World's Most Frequently Stolen Artwork RECOMMENDED READ!
• Metropolitan Museum of Art - Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History - The Ghent Altarpiece

The correct answers

Ka Grey provided a very comprehensive first correct answer.  I always like it when the first one comes in comes from somebody who has very obviously enjoyed finding out about that week's painting!  Very astute search query!

Well done to all the others who got the correct answer - who are as follows:

• Alyson Champ
• Colours and Textures
• Sandra Robinson
• happyjacqui
• Charlotta Due (aka Pappersdraken = the paperdragon)
• Jean-Baptiste Pelardon
• Deborah Secor