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Benozzo Gozzoli, The Lamb of the Apocalypse Italian, c. 1459-1460 Florence, Palazzo Medici Riccardi, Chapel |
“I, John, looked and heard the voices of many angels who surrounded the throne
and the living creatures and the elders.
They were countless in number, and they cried out in a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and blessing.”
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea,
everything in the universe, cry out:
“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might,
forever and ever.”
The four living creatures answered, “Amen,”
and the elders fell down and worshiped.”
Revelation 5:11-14 (Second Reading for the Third Sunday of Easter,
Cycle C)
Revelation, the final book of the Bible, is one of the most
mysterious of all the biblical writings.
It is the record of a vision, purportedly by the Apostle John in his old
age, as he lived on the island of Patmos.
It appears to describe the end times in powerful poetic images that
have awed and puzzled Christians since the day it was written at the end of the
first century.1
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| The Vision of Saint John on Patmos From a Bible historiale of Guiard des Moulins French (Paris), 1400-1425 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 4, fol. 256r |
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| Master of the Saint John Vision, The Vision of Saint John Evangelist with Donors from the Schefgin Family German, c.1450 Cologne, Wallraf das Museum |
At times its highly symbolic language has been misunderstood as actual descriptions of things and people, at other times it has been seen as a slightly crazy attempt at explaining the current situations in which the first century Christians found themselves vis-a-vis the Roman Empire.
 |
| Style of Loyset Liedet, The Vision of Saint John From a Commentary on the Apocalypse Belgian (Bruges), 1465-1475 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 68, fol. 179v |
Whatever its meaning, and however it has been understood, it has had a powerful, though somewhat marginal, position in the life of the church. This was particularly true during the Middle Ages and into the period of religious persecution that followed the Reformation, during which both sides of the Christian divide tortured and slaughtered the other in the name of their interpretation of the book and of the Bible as a whole.
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| Hans Memling, The Vision of Saint John on Patmos Right Wing of the Saint John Altarpiece Belgian, c. 1474-1479 Bruges, Memlingmuseum, Sint-Janshospitaal |
No image from the Book of Revelation speaks more strongly
and more directly of the overwhelming power of God to save as does the
description of the adoration of the Lamb which is highlighted by being the
second reading for the Third Sunday of Easter in reading Cycle C, which was
read in Catholic churches this Sunday.
The Lamb has always been an image that is associated with Jesus,
beginning with the declaration of John the Baptist “Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world”, as Jesus presented Himself at the Jordan
for baptism (John 1: 29, 36). Christians
immediately know that the “Lamb that was slain” is Jesus and that the Lamb
before whom the angels and elders worship is the same Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity,
whose First Person sits on the throne.
Throughout the Middle Ages artists struggled with the problem of how to translate this vivid mind-image into a pictorial image. From the early Carolingian period onward many versions appeared.
 |
The Adoration of the Lamb
From the Codex Aureus of Saint Emmeram
French, 879
Munich, Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek
MS Clm 14000
|
Some were in
illustrated copies of Revelation itself, found in Bibles and in such biblically derived popular works as the Bible historiale, others appeared in various commentaries
on Revelation.
 |
Colins Chadewe, The Adoration of lamb
From a Bible
Belgian, 1313
Paris, Biblioitheque nationale de France
MS Francais 13096, fol. 14
|
The most popular
commentary of the Middle Ages was that by Beatus of Liebana, an eighth century
Spanish monk, who prepared a compilation of previous commentaries by the early
Church Fathers.2 Not surprisingly, the work of Beatus was done during a period of persecution for Christians in Spain as they contended with
life under the domination of the Moorish Muslims. The repressions they experienced were not unlike those experienced by the early Christians under the Roman Empire.
 |
Maius, The Adoration of the Lamb
From The Morgan Beatus
Spanish (Leon), 935-950
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 644, fol. 117v-118r
|
However, this work was also popular outside of
Spain during the remainder of the Middle Ages. Many copies of the Beatus (as the work is
generally known) were made and many of these contained illustrations.
Artists made an effort to show the multitudes of angels, elders and the four living creatures (usually interpreted as the four living creatures found in the description of the throne of God in the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:4-10) and understood by Christians as symbolic references to the four Evangelists).
 |
| The Adoration of the Lamb From a Commentarius in apocalypsin (Called the Beatus d'Arroyo) Spanish (Castille), c. 1200-1225 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de Paris MS Nouvelle acquisition latine 2290, fol. 79v |
 |
| The Adoration of the Lamb From a Bible historiale of Guiard des Moulins French (Paris), c.1300-1325 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 155, fol. 196 |
 |
| The Adoration of the Lamb From the Cloisters Apocalypse French (Normandy), 1330 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Accession No. 68.174, fol. 25v |
 |
| The Adoration of the Lamb From the Apocalypse of Saint Victor French (Normandy), c.1330 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 14410, fol. 6 |
 |
| Jacobello Alberegno, The Adoration of the Lamb Central Panel of the Apocalypse Polyptych Italian, c. 1360-1390 Venice, Gallerie dell'Accademia |
However, it is toward the end of the Middle Ages, at the very dawn of the
northern Renaissance, that what is probably the most famous and the most
definitive illustration of the scene from Revelation was made.
This is the central panel of the Ghent Altarpiece, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, completed in 1432.3 It is the work of two brothers, Hubert and Jan van Eyck, who were pioneers of the new and almost magical technique of panel painting with oils. Hubert began the work, but died in 1426, before it was finished. The work of completing the altarpiece was then undertaken by his brother, Jan, who has been among the most famous of all painters from his own day to ours.
The altarpiece of which the panel forms one part has amazingly survived almost intact in the same place for which it was commissioned, a chapel in the cathedral of Saint Bavo in Ghent, which was originally the parish church of Saint John.
This is the central panel of the Ghent Altarpiece, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, completed in 1432.3 It is the work of two brothers, Hubert and Jan van Eyck, who were pioneers of the new and almost magical technique of panel painting with oils. Hubert began the work, but died in 1426, before it was finished. The work of completing the altarpiece was then undertaken by his brother, Jan, who has been among the most famous of all painters from his own day to ours.
The altarpiece of which the panel forms one part has amazingly survived almost intact in the same place for which it was commissioned, a chapel in the cathedral of Saint Bavo in Ghent, which was originally the parish church of Saint John.
 |
Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, The Adoration of the Lamb
Central panel of the Ghent Altarpiece
Belgian, 1432
Ghent, Cathedral of Saint Bavo
|
 |
| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck Exterior of the Ghent Altarpiece |
In 1940 it was
dismantled and moved to Pau in the French Pyrenees for safety. However, it was located by the Germans and
brought from Pau to Germany, where it went first to the castle of Neuschwanstein
and then to the salt mines of Altausee, where it was found by the US Army's Monuments
Men. It was returned on October 30, 1945
at the end of the Second World War and has been in place in Saint Bavo since
then. It is currently the object of a
highly detailed effort to conserve, record and support its continued existence
which began in 2010 and will run until 2017.5
While not quite “the defining monument of the Catholic Church” as claimed during the opening minutes of the film “The Monuments Men” (2014), the Ghent Altarpiece is indeed one of the greatest works of western art and a significant work in its theological background for it tells the entire story of Redemption.
While not quite “the defining monument of the Catholic Church” as claimed during the opening minutes of the film “The Monuments Men” (2014), the Ghent Altarpiece is indeed one of the greatest works of western art and a significant work in its theological background for it tells the entire story of Redemption.
The story begins on the exterior where we see the the
prophets and sibyls who predicted the birth of Christ, and the Annunciation,
which forms the central image of the altarpiece when its wings are closed, as well as the donor Joos Vidj and his wife, Elizabeth, who kneel in prayer before Saint John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist, the patron saints of Ghent and of the church of Saint John, which was the original name for what is now the Cathedral of Saint Bavo.
On the interior we see the great vision of the Adoration of the Lamb, which takes place under the image of the Triune God, seated in the center of the upper tier, flanked by the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and by Saint John the Baptist, the herald of the Messiah and patron of the town of Ghent. The central figures are flanked by groups of angelic musicians and singers and the figures of the first humans, Adam and Eve, whose Fall triggered the Redemption. Above the heads of Adam and Eve are what appear to be small sculptures which tell the story of their two sons, Cain and Abel.
On the interior we see the great vision of the Adoration of the Lamb, which takes place under the image of the Triune God, seated in the center of the upper tier, flanked by the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven and by Saint John the Baptist, the herald of the Messiah and patron of the town of Ghent. The central figures are flanked by groups of angelic musicians and singers and the figures of the first humans, Adam and Eve, whose Fall triggered the Redemption. Above the heads of Adam and Eve are what appear to be small sculptures which tell the story of their two sons, Cain and Abel.
 |
| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, Interior View, The Ghent Altarpiece |
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| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, Lamb of God Detail, The Ghent Altarpiece |
 |
| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, The Fountain of Life from the Ghent Altarpiece |
Angels placed around the altar carry the Instruments of the Passion or swing censers just as altar servers swing
censers at the Consecration of the Mass in recognition of the presence of
God.
 |
| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck Angels with the Instruments of the Passion and the Lamb Ghent Altarpiece |
Directly in line with the altar is a fountain with an octagonal basin from which the water of life flows into a channel which
leads out of the picture at the bottom. The basin of the fountain is engraved with the words of Revelation 22:1 "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb."
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| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck Fountain of Life showing inscription http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/#home/sub=macros |
Around the altar of the Lamb are groups of different people
saved by the sacrifice of the Lamb. On
the immediate left are the Prophets, both Jewish and pagan.
 |
| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, The Prophets |
On the right the Apostles kneel in front of a
crowd of members of the clergy, including several popes and bishops, the successors of the Apostles. They are followed by a number of lower clergy and laymen.
 |
| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, The Apostles, Bishops, Clergy and Laymen |
Another group of clergy, including bishops
and cardinals are seen to be coming in from the upper left;
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| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, The Bishops, Cardinals and Clerics |
while from the upper
right comes a group of women.
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| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, The Female Saints |
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| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck The Hermit Saints |
Beyond them, on the outer right wing, is a group of pilgrim saints, led by Saint Christopher.
 |
Hubert and Jan Van Eyck
The Pilgrim Saints
|
On the inner left wing are the armed and
mounted warriors of Christ, the soldier saints
and on the outer left wing (a copy of the stolen and still missing panel) are the Just Judges, lay men who carried out their civil responsibilities with Christian care.
 |
Hubert and Jan Van Eyck
The Soldiers of Christ
|
and on the outer left wing (a copy of the stolen and still missing panel) are the Just Judges, lay men who carried out their civil responsibilities with Christian care.
 |
Jef van der Veken after Hubert and Jan Van Eyck
Copy of missing panel of the Just Judges
|
The beautiful landscape stretches out beyond the groups of
saints into a luminous atmosphere. Among
the trees and other plants are those that come from different areas of the
world and that bloom and fruit at different times for this is not the real
world of everyday.
 |
| Detail of the landscape from Closer to Van Eyck: Rediscovering the Ghent Altarpiece http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/#home/sub=macros |
It is the heavenly
city of God, which is always at the point of perfection. Beautiful towers appear in the distance. Some of them are actual portraits of real
buildings, but most are inventions.
 |
| Detail of a building from Closer to Van Eyck: Rediscovering the Ghent Altarpiece http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/#home/sub=macros |
Below the altarpiece there originally stood a predella, which appears to have been destroyed early on, and which apparently represented Limbo, the abode of the saints of the Old Testament, now liberated and included in the altarpiece itself. The water of life apparently once descended from the fountain through Limbo toward the real altar on which the Mass was celebrated. 6
This would have tied the entire piece, with its vision of the heavenly city, to the celebrating priest at the real altar and the congregation assembled around it. It would have reminded them that, even as they adored the Body and Blood of Christ at the elevation of the Host within the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass, they were joined to the Adoration of that same Lamb Who Was Slain in the realm of Heaven. The Altarpiece of the Lamb is, therefore, a window into the heavenly realm and a link between the everyday world within time and the eternal, one outside of time.
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| Hubert and Jan Van Eyck The Fountain of Life http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/#home/sub=macros |
This would have tied the entire piece, with its vision of the heavenly city, to the celebrating priest at the real altar and the congregation assembled around it. It would have reminded them that, even as they adored the Body and Blood of Christ at the elevation of the Host within the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass, they were joined to the Adoration of that same Lamb Who Was Slain in the realm of Heaven. The Altarpiece of the Lamb is, therefore, a window into the heavenly realm and a link between the everyday world within time and the eternal, one outside of time.
With its near miraculous detail and strong theological
program, the Ghent Altarpiece has, it seems, said the definitive word on the
Adoration of the Lamb. Few works of art
have followed it and none have surpassed it.7
The followers have included Albrecht Dűrer, who we know saw it in 1521 (after he had already produced his illustrations for Revelation), and the Flemish artist Jan Sadeler I, who composed several versions of the Adoration of the Lamb, which owe some aspects to the Ghent Altarpiece.
In the late 1670s Giovanni Battista Gaulli, known as Il Baccicio, painted a very Baroque vision of the Adoration of the Lamb for the apse of the mother church of the Jesuits, the Gesù, to compliment his great work, the Adoration of the Name of Jesus, on the vault of the nave.
The followers have included Albrecht Dűrer, who we know saw it in 1521 (after he had already produced his illustrations for Revelation), and the Flemish artist Jan Sadeler I, who composed several versions of the Adoration of the Lamb, which owe some aspects to the Ghent Altarpiece.
 |
| Albrecht Dűrer, The Adoration of the Lamb From The Apocalypse German, 1511 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
 |
| Jan Sadeler I, After Crispin van den Broeck, The Adoration of the Lamb Belgian, c.1585 Philadelphia, Museum of Art |
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| Johann Sadeler I, The Adoration of the Lamb Belgian, 1588 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum |
In the late 1670s Giovanni Battista Gaulli, known as Il Baccicio, painted a very Baroque vision of the Adoration of the Lamb for the apse of the mother church of the Jesuits, the Gesù, to compliment his great work, the Adoration of the Name of Jesus, on the vault of the nave.
 |
| Giovanni Battista Gaulli (Il Baccicio), The Adoration of the Lamb Italian, c. 1680 Rome, Church of the Gesù |
The last image of the Adoration that I could
find goes in a totally different, almost proto-Impressionistic visionary direction.
 |
| Attributed to Otomar Elliger II, The Adoration of the Lamb German, c.1700 Private Collection |
© M. Duffy, 2016
_______________________________________________
1. See the
Introduction to the Book of Revelation at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops
website for details at http://www.usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?bk=Revelation&ch=
3. A good short
introduction to the Ghent Altarpiece, including the chronology of events, is
still Dhanens, Elisabeth. Van
Eyck: The Ghent Altarpiece, New
York, The Viking Press, 1973.
4. It is still an
open case for the Ghent police. See “The
Ghent Altarpiece: the truth about the most stolen artwork of all time”, The
Guardian, December 20, 2013 at http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/dec/20/ghent-altarpiece-most-stolen-artwork-of-all-time
5. See the website of the project “Closer to Van
Eyck: Rediscovering the Ghent Altarpiece”
which is loaded with information and detailed pictures of the panels and their
underpainting, which is truly fascinating, at http://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/#intro
6. For further reflection on the meaning of the Ghent Altarpiece see the comments of Raffaela Fazio Smith at http://www.theglobaldispatches.com/articles/adoration-of-the-mystic-lamb
7. See also the Khan Academy website at https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/northern-renaissance1/burgundy-netherlands/a/vaneyck-ghentaltar which includes some photos from the recovery of the painting by the Monuments Men and some links to current restoration work.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition© 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
7. See also the Khan Academy website at https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/northern-renaissance1/burgundy-netherlands/a/vaneyck-ghentaltar which includes some photos from the recovery of the painting by the Monuments Men and some links to current restoration work.
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition© 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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