Belgium: The Ghent Altarpiece. Early Flemish panel painting by Hubert van Eyck (c. 1385–1426) and Jan van Eyck (c. 1390-1441), 1430-1432

The Ghent Altarpiece (also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb or The Lamb of God, Dutch: Het Lam Gods) is a very large and complex 15th-century Early Flemish polyptych panel painting.

Commissioned and designed as an altarpiece, it comprises 12 panels, eight of which are hinged shutters painted on each side, giving two distinct views depending on whether they are open or closed. Except for Sundays and festive holidays, the outer wings were closed and covered with cloth.

It was begun by Hubert van Eyck who was most likely responsible for the overall design, but died in 1426. Probably, the individual panels were executed by his younger and better known brother Jan van Eyck between 1430 and 1432.

In 1945, the altarpiece was returned from Germany after spending much of World War II hidden in an Austrian salt mine, which greatly damaged the paint and varnish.

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