Fabrice Hadjadj's Theological Exegesis of the Ghent Altarpiece

A new book by Fabrice Hadjadj examines the tumultuous history of the Ghent Altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers, a masterpiece of Flemish painting. Hadjadj describes the polyptych as a 'seismograph' of European upheavals: the iconoclastic violence of the Reformation, the dispersal of its panels during the French Revolution, a fire in 1822, the replacement of original nudes with copies, the theft of panels in 1934, Nazi appropriation, and its storage in an Austrian salt mine in 1945 with orders to blow it up. Miraculously saved, the altarpiece now faces the challenge of mass tourism behind protective glass. Photographer Paul Maeyert's superb images accompany Hadjadj's theological exegesis, which argues the work is both the summit of Gothic art and the launch of modernity in painting due to its use of oil and diluent. Hadjadj explores why such a work could only emerge from Latin Christianity, focusing on doctrines of incarnation, Eucharistic real presence, and the importance of the body and sexual difference. The book invites readers to see the altarpiece anew in Ghent.