The next phase of the restoration concentrates on the upper panels of the inner altarpiece, and here, directly above the unnerving mystic lamb, we find the majestic deity, who is both emulating the style of a Russian icon (Van Eyck is clearly inspired by Byzantine art here) and an emperor who is rendered in flesh but who still suggests omnipotence. In fact, the French artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres based his great painting of the Emperor Napoleon on this panel.
But is it Christ or God the Father that Van Eyck has depicted? It is a question that’s exercised art historians, and there are those who argue that the ambiguity is deliberate. It would, in fact, be among the earliest representations of the New Testament God in painting, certainly in altarpiece painting (the painted altarpiece was relatively new in any case; they would typically have been carved). Here the figure holds an extraordinarily rendered rock crystal sceptre, the symbol of pure power, while a bejewelled crown lies at his feet. He is placed directly above the tiny sacrificial lamb, in a natural hierarchy. If it’s the son of God, we can say for certain that never before had Christ himself been depicted in such a resplendent, all-powerful manner.
Director of the Musea Brugge, Till-Holger Borchert, who sits on the scientific committee of the Van Eyck exhibition, has his own views, and it’s an explanation that adds further weight to what makes Van Eyck such a beguiling artist.
“My personal take on that is that Van Eyck is a master of ambivalence,” he tells BBC Culture. “I’ve studied his paintings for a very long time and what I find fascinating is that if you look for sureties, this is not your painter. This is an artist who offers endless opportunities of interpretation and I think the figure is almost ostentatiously ambivalent. In any case,” Borchert adds, “what could be more complicated to the human mind than the Holy Trinity in Catholic theology? Van Eyck suggests that complication in the painting.”
Who knows what the restoration of the figure will reveal. But one thing is guaranteed: this unprecedentedly ambitious and complex altarpiece will continue to surprise us for many more years.
Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution is at the Museum of Fine Art Ghent, 1 February to 30 April 2020.
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