Jan van Eyck's Optical Revolution: Major Exhibition at MSK Ghent

The Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) in Ghent presents 'Van Eyck ‒ An optical revolution', a landmark exhibition featuring over half of Jan van Eyck's surviving works. The show, coordinated by Matthias Depoorter, includes the Ghent Altarpiece (The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb) after a five-year restoration by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in Brussels. Other highlights include the 'Léal Souvenir' from the National Gallery in London, 'Portrait of Jan de Leeuw' from Vienna, 'Portrait of a Man with a Blue Chaperon' from Romania, and 'Portrait of Baudouin de Lannoy' from Berlin. The exhibition explores van Eyck's 'optical revolution'—his realistic depiction of light, texture, and detail, such as the first realistic painting of the moon's surface. It also debunks the myth of van Eyck as merely a court painter, emphasizing his urban and social context. Thirteen galleries display works by van Eyck, his workshop, and 100 comparative pieces, including Italian paintings by Masaccio, Domenico Veneziano, and Fra Angelico. The Turin-Milan Hours from Palazzo Madama in Turin is a key miniature. The exhibition runs until April 30.