Restoration of Ghent Altarpiece to take longer than expected

Restorers, who have been working on the altarpiece’s 12 panels since 2012, have discovered a number of overpaintings – places where the original work was painted over by subsequent generations –  that they want to remove to expose the Van Eycks’ original work underneath. That requires both more time and more funding. The result will be a work more closely resembling the 15th-century original, a version that may not have been seen in centuries.

The altarpiece, housed in Ghent’s Sint-Baafs Cathedral, has four central panels and eight hinged panels, all of which are painted on both sides. When the hinged panels are open, the view is of God the Father, flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, angels singing and playing music, and Adam and Eve. Below is the central panel, which shows the Lamb of God being worshipped by prophets, apostles, clerics, martyrs, judges and knights.

When closed, the altarpiece presents a view of the Annunciation with portraits of prophets and sibyls, saints and the work’s donors, a wealthy merchant couple.

The eight exterior panels will be ready by June of next year, said the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage in Brussels, which is overseeing the restoration. It had been hoped that this part of the work might be complete by last year 2014, but overpainting has delayed progress – as well as costing an extra €480,000.

“At the moment, we’re looking into how much overpainting is involved on the inner panels,” the institute’s spokesperson said. “If that’s extensive, we have to see how much can be removed.”

Most of the altarpiece is still on view in Sint-Baafs; only panels currently being restored have been removed to Ghent’s Fine Arts Museum, where the restoration work in progress is on view to the public.

Photo: Restorers discuss the ongoing works to the panels of the Ghent Altarpiece
© MSKGent