Episode 21 - A Copy of a Copy
The Ghent Altarpiece, Part 4
Oscar Van Bouchaute with Jan and Hubert van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece (interior), 1432
Oil on oak, open dimensions 11 ft 6 in x 15 ft (350 x 460 cm)
St. Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent
Photograph after the 1934 theft
Interior - composite image approximating appearance after the treatment phase completed in 2020 and before the phase begun in 2023
closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be
Jef Van der Veken in his studio in Brussels. Photograph, before1929. (RKD, Netherlands Institute for Art History, Jef Van der Veken Archive, The Hague)
Reproduced in Hélène Dubois, “The conservation history of The Ghent Altarpiece,” The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 160, No. 1386, (September 2018), pp. 754-765
Jef Van der Veken, Madonna and Child with Donors, c, 1900
Wood, central panel 34 1/4 x 26 1/2 in (88 x 67 cm)
Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana
Jef Van der Veken, Madonna and Child with Donor, c. 1900
Wood, 15 3/4 x 17 1/4 in (40 x 44 cm)
Museo del Prado, Madrid
Jef Van der Veken, The Renders Magdalene , 1920-26
Wood panel, 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 in (34 x 27.3 cm)
Belgian National Collection​
The Renders Magdalene, before restoration by Jef Van der Veken
Wood panel, 13 1/2 x 10 3/4 in (34 x 27.3 cm)
Belgian National Collection​
Rogier van der Weyden, Mary Magdalene (wing of the Braque Triptych), c. 1452
Musee du Louvre, Paris
South Netherlandish, Man of Sorrows with Kneeling Donor, fourth quarter 15th century with modern additions
Oil and tempera on wood, 18 x 12 1/2 in. (45.7 x 31.8 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York​
Photo montage showing remaining original paint
Current state - with additions likely by Jef Van der Veken
Master Francke, Man of Sorrows, (detail) ca. 1400
Tempera on wood, 16 3/4x 12 3/8 in. (42.5 x 31.3 cm)
Museum der Bildenden Kunst, Leipzig
Jan Van Eyck, Virgin and Child with Canon van der Paele, 1434-35
Oil on wood, 55 1/2 x 69 1/2 in (141 x 176.5 cm)
Groeningemuseum, Bruges
Jan and Hubert van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece, 1432
Exterior of Adam and Eve panels
closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be
Flaking paint before 2012
Consolidated paint after 2016
Flaking paint before 2012
Consolidated paint after 2016
Cumean Sibyl before 2012 and after 2016
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The Ghent Altarpiece recovered by Allied Forces - including Monuments Man George Stout - Altaussee, Austria, 1945
The white areas are facing tissue applied to temporarily secure flaking paint.
Original (missing) Judges - x-radiograph​
Modern copy of the Just Judges - x-radiograph
Jan and Hubert Van Eyck, The Just Judges, 1432
Michiel Coxcie, The Just Judges, 1557
Jef Van der Veken, The Just Judges, 1939 - 51
Van Eyck, original detail
Van der Veken, copy detail
After Rogier Van der Weyden, Portrait of Philip the Good,
Duke of Burgundy, c 1455
Oil on oak panel, 12.2 x 9 in (31 x 23 cm)
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon
Van Eyck, original detail
Albert I, King of Belgium
Coxcie, copy detail
Van der Veken, copy detail
Recommended Reading
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In addition to the readings of Episodes 18, 19, and 20
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Marie Postec and Jana Sanyova, “Conditie En Behandeling Van De Rechtvaardige Rechters (Joseph Van Der Veken, 1939-1951),” in Conservatie en materieel onderzoek van het Retabel van het Lam Gods Gent, Sint-Baafskathedraal, 16 maart 2011
https://data.closertovaneyck.be/legacy/data/Conservatie%20en%20materieel%20onderzoek%202010.pdf
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Hubert von Sonnenburg, "A Case of Recurring Deception," The Changing Image: Studies in Paintings Conservation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol 51, Numb 3, 1993
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​Dominique Vanwijnsberghe, ed., Autour De La Madeleine Renders. Un Aspect De L'histoire Des Collections, De La Restauration Et De La Contrefacon En Belgique Dans La Premiere Moitie ... Siecle (Scientia Artis, 4), Brepols Publishers, 2008
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