This fascinating book looks at the work of Flemish painter Jan van Eyck (c. 1395-1441) under a magnifying glass. Famed for his focused observation of nature, Van Eyck studied fauna and flora in their natural environment and under carefully chosen light conditions, and then achieved a breathtaking and convincing realism in his paintings. Each panel is a collection of minuscule details rendered with superb clarity from foreground to background, or at least that is the impression at first glance. As this book reveals, that is precisely where Van Eyck's exceptional talent lies: he understood that the human brain is able to supplement visual perception where necessary. Here, details from Van Eyck's paintings are organized by such themes as nature, architecture, daily life, fabrics, glass, jewelry and mirrors, and portraits. Opening with a biographical note and an introduction on the technique of oil painting on panel, the authors explain the significance of the individual details and how Van Eyck achieved his innovative artistic results. This is an unprecedented look at the work of a popular master.

The Ghent Altarpiece or the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, by the Van Eyck brothers (1432), is recognized worldwide as a great work of art, and one of the most influential paintings ever made. It was the world's first major oil painting, and it is laced with religious mysticism. The work almost reads like an A to Z of Christianity - from the Annunciation to the symbolic sacrifice of Christ, with the 'Mystic Lamb' on an altar in a heavenly meadow, bleeding into the Holy Grail. For the first time, this book gathers together diverse insights on the Ghent Altarpiece, the monumental poliptych that the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck realized with the assistance of a large workshop and advisers on the painting's subject matters. This book has the same aim: to bring together experts from the most diverse disciplines. Only by combining the perspectives of (art) historians, philosophers, religious studies scholars, mathematicians and specialists in optics can one fully understand the riches and depth of this masterpiece. Lavishly illustrated, including details that have come to light using state-of-the-art techniques during the current conservation project and are not always visible to the naked eye.

Chapter 11 : Art Auctions in Germany during the Eighteenth Century -- Chapter 12: Arenas of Connoisseurship: Auctioning Art in Later Stuart England -- Chapter 13: The Origins of the London Art Market, 1660-1730 -- Chapter 14: Commerce and the Commodity: Graphic Display and Selling New Consumer Goods in Eighteenth-Century England -- Chapter 15: Intrigue, Jewellery and Economics: Court Culture and Display in England and France in the 1780s -- Bibliography -- Index

This study is an important new account of the life and work of the flemish master Petrus Christus. It is the first volume to focus specifically on the physical characteristics of his works as criteria for judging attribution, dating, and the extent to which he was indebted to Jan Van Eyck and other artists for the development of his technique and style.

Het retabel van het Lam Gods in de Gentse Sint-Baafskathedraal behoort zonder enige twijfel tot de hoogtepunten van de schilderkunst uit de hele wereld. Maximiliaan P.J. Martens gidst u via paginagrote details langs het beroemde altaarstuk. In een boeiende inleiding worden zowel de betekenis als de achtergrond van dit meesterwerk van de gebroeders Van Eyck belicht. Met prachtige nieuwe foto's van het Lam Gods na de recentelijke restauratie.

Overzicht van het werk van de Vlaamse kunstschilder (ca. 1390-1441).

This study is an important new account of the life and work of the Flemish master Petrus Christus. It is the first volume to focus specifically on the physical characteristics of his works as criteria for judging attribution, dating, and the extent to which he was indebted to Jan van Eyck and other artists for the development of his technique and style. The author's aim is to examine how certain works were made in order to solve some rather traditional questions of connoisseurship. Recent technical and archival investigations, the results of which are published here together for the first time, form the basis of a sophisticated reassessment of Christus. His relationship with van Eyck's workshop is explored. There is a careful description of his working methods, including his use of underdrawings and his exploration of perspective. The results of dendrochronological analyses of many of his panels are also given. As important as this technical and art-historical evaluation is the social and biographical background that is provided. Christus is placed in the context of fifteenth-century Bruges, a wealthy and powerful city under the rule of the dukes of Burgundy. its status as a ducal seat fostered a lively cultural life, and patrons for artistic undertakings were also found in the relatively large number of well-to-do citizens and foreign merchants who lived there. The economic, social, and political forces that affected Bruges are described, as is their impact on the city's community of artists, which included Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling.

Résumé du texte et biographie en français. Ouvrage édité à l'occasion de l'exposition présentée à Bruges, Gruuthusemuseum, du 19 septembre au 31 novembre 1992.