Center for Medieval Studies
Institute for Advanced Study
University of Minnesota

* Fall 2006 Workshop Series *

“The Ghent Altarpiece: A New Look
at an Old Masterpiece?”

Linda Seidel
of the University of Chicago

Abstract:

This monumental, early fifteenth-century polyptych has suffered systematic abuse throughout its long life, well beyond that caused by art historical inquiry. In addition to having been removed from its physical context and shorn of its frame, it experienced repainting early on, was taken apart on several occasions, and had one of its panels stolen. Still it survives, its twenty odd panels nearly intact, as a landmark of European painting, a masterpiece attributed for the most part to the hand of the Duke of Burgundy's favorite artist, Jan van Eyck. Over the years, issues of style and iconography, which highlight significant differences among the panels in regard to size and subject matter, have diminished appreciation of the work as a whole. After briefly commenting on some of these factors, I would like to set them aside and focus instead on the panels' consistent and exceptional characteristics of craftsmanship, using them as a stimulus to reflection on other aspects of the work's function and importance.