the great altarpiece in the Church of St. Bavon (now St. John), Ghent—the Adoration of the Lamb, which he painted for Jodocus Vydt, a rich patrician of Ghent. The following portions, as differing in drawing, colouring, cast of drapery, and treatment from the style of Jan, as recognized in his other works, may be safely assigned to Hubert, namely: the Almighty, the Virgin, St. John the Baptist, from the upper inner series, and the great picture of the Adoration of the Lamb, being the central portion of the lower series, in the Church of St. Bavon, Ghent; St. Cecilia and Angels playing on musical instruments, Berlin Museum; both the upper outside wings, with Adam and Eve, Brussels Museum. The side of the centre picture with the Apostles and Saints, and the wings with the hermits and pilgrims, with the exception of the landscapes, are also attributed to Hubert Van Eyck. The altarpiece in its entirety is one of the most wonderful works of art in the world.—Biog. nat. de Belgique, vi. 775; Carton, Les trois Frères Van Eyck (Brussels, 1848); Eastlake, Materials; Eisenman, The Brothers Van Eyck, 209; Dohme, li.; Ch. Blanc, École flamande; C. & C., Flemish Painters, 34; Allgem. d. Biogr., vi. 778; Förster, Denkmale, iii. 15; vi. 17; do., Gesch., ii. 64; Immerzeel, i. 226; Kramm, ii. 448; Michiels, ii. 83; Schnaase, viii. 103; W. & W., ii. 8.
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EYCK, JAN VAN, born at Maaseyck
about 1381,
died in Bruges
July 9,
1440. Flemish
school.
Jan and his
elder brother
Hubert are
supposed to
have been
court-painters
to Philip
de Charolois,
afterwards Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy,
who, with his wife, Michelle de
France, resided at Ghent between 1418 and
1421. In October, 1422, Jan entered the
service of Duke John of Bavaria as "painter
and varlet," at The Hague, and after his
death (May 19, 1425) re-entered that of
Duke Philip in the same capacities. During
the next three years he lived at Lille,
whence he was sent by the Duke, Oct. 19,
1428, to Portugal, to paint the portrait of
his affianced bride, the Princess Isabel. At
Christmas, 1429, Jan returned to Flanders
with the Princess, and settled at Ghent to
complete the great altarpiece of the Adoration
of the Lamb, left unfinished by his
brother Hubert. Having accomplished this
work in 1432, he established himself at Bruges,
where, in consideration of his great
merit, the Duke exempted him from taxes,
and in 1434 honoured him by becoming
godfather to his daughter Lyennie. Authorities
differ as to what part of the great
altarpiece in the Cathedral of St. Bavon at
Ghent was painted by Jan after his brother's
death. The question is the more difficult to
decide, as it is Hubert's one authentic work.
Many pictures by Jan exist, and these when
compared with the altarpiece have led Woltmann
to conclude that only the paintings
on the outer shutters, Berlin Gallery, are
by him. They consist of the Annunciation
and the Prophets and Sibyls who foretold
the event, and of four figures in niches, two
of which in monochrome represent Gothic
statues of SS. John the Baptist and the
Evangelist, and two in colour, the kneeling
donors, Jodocus Vydt and his wife, Frau
Lisbet Barlut. To these as Jan's work are
added in Kugler's Handbook (Crowe) the
wing picture with the singing angels of the
upper series on the inner side, the side of
the centre picture of the Adoration of the
Lamb containing the Patriarchs and Prophets,
etc., and the entire landscape, the wing
with the soldiers of Christ and the Righteous
Judges, and the landscapes to the wing with
the hermits and pilgrims. Other works by
Jan are the Consecration of Thomas à Becket