ST. BAVON'S CATHEDRAL AND THE MYSTIC LAMB

This Brabantine Gothic cathedral with its white stone façade is the pride of Ghent. It was here that Charles V was baptized in 1500. Only the crypt, with its 22 altars, bears witness to the original Romanesque style. The multi-storey tower rises to 89 m, but the original spire has been destroyed. The interior features a striking black-and-white checkerboard floor in moiré marble, added in the ^18th century. In addition to the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, the cathedral houses paintings by De Crayer and Frans Pourbus, a painting by Rubens(L'Entrée de saint Bavon au monastère, 1623), and the funerary monuments of four bishops sculpted in the ^17th and ^18th centuries in the choir... Note the group in which the bishop kneels before the Virgin and Child, in the presence of the emaciated Death. It's by Delcour, arguably the greatest Belgian sculptor of the ^17th century, and the creator of the famous Vierge in Liège.

The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Some art enthusiasts only come to Ghent to see this masterpiece, which is still a mystery. This monumental altarpiece in twelve panels painted on both sides was created between 1420 and 1432 by the brothers Jan and Hubert Van Eyck. It is considered the pinnacle of ^15th-century Flemish painting. The central panel was returned to Saint-Bavon in early 2020, after years of restoration. The other panels are still being restored. Don't miss the opportunity to see the restorers at work through a large display case at the MSK, which separates the exhibition room from the workshop. The altarpiece is in an excellent state of preservation, having been reworked several times by artists whose subsequent layers of paint have finally preserved the original work. Now, thanks to an X-ray study, restorers can assess the condition of the original paint before meticulously scraping away and restoring the original line and colors. It's almost a miracle! It would appear that the altarpiece was begun by Hubert Van Eyck, the elder of the two brothers, and completed by Jan. However, specialists have never been able to agree on which parts of the painting were attributed to each of the brothers. The Mystic Lamb illustrates a passage from John's Apocalypse, and shows the whole world coming to worship the Lamb, symbolizing the risen Christ. The terrestrial part occupies the lower level and the celestial part the upper register. The side panels on the left show Christ's knights and upright judges. On the right, saints and hermits. In the sky, the Trinity reigns over the world saved by Jesus. On the right, Saint John the Baptist, on the left, the Virgin Mary. Finally, at either end, Adam and Eve. The outside of the altarpiece's shutters is also painted. Since its creation, the altarpiece has always been in St. Bavo Cathedral. It remained closed most of the time, and the interior was only visible on feast days. In 1934, two panels of The Mystic Lamb were stolen, and one of them - the one on the left - has never been found. The investigation continues to this day. Since 1986, it has been on display in the cathedral's former baptistery, converted into a vault following the repeated thefts. Tickets for theAdoration of the Mystic Lamb include an audioguide, which provides intelligent commentary on this masterpiece.