(openPR) - The most known artwork of the medieval times, the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck, might hide a big secret. In his new book „Das Rätsel des Lammes“ the German author Klaus Schröer discovers that the masterpiece keeps a series of riddles which all link to a little church from the time of the crusades. Furthermore, the composition of the central panels seems to show the groundplan of this church.
RELEASE DATE: Saturday, 2007/05/05
The starting point of Schröers investigation of nearly 10 years was a range of inconsistencies in the altarpiece art historians itemized in the last century without finding an explanation for them. Mainly the missing architecture of the New Jerusalem with its 12 gates with 12 angels upon them confounded the experts. The description of this building is given in the apocalypse of St. John, the main issue of the Ghent Altarpiece. Yet, the central panels of the painting just show the things to find inside this place but not the building itself. The so-called Fountain of Life, an older and smaller panel, in which many art historians see the only conserved study of the Ghent Altarpiece, shows this architecture in a way that approximately fits St. John´s text.
In the Ghent Altarpiece, van Eyck arranged 12 angels on both sides of the table of the lamb, which is a medieval symbol of the tomb of Christ. Schröer thought that this might be a rebus describing a dodecagonal building with the grave of Christ inside. Certainly, there is only one real tomb of Christ in Jerusalem. After the lost of the city in 1189, however, the crusaders built a special type of polygonal churches which keep Jesus` grave inside in a symbolic way, because it was no longer safe to visit the original.
In a long research Schröer found only one of those buildings with twelve corners: the church La Vera Cruz in Segovia (Spain) from 1208. He was very amazed about the fact that the composition of the central panels of the Ghent Altarpiece strongly resembles the groundplan of this building. First believing in a great coincidence, he found additional links to this church in van Eyck´s artwork. For example, van Eyck placed the True Cross very close to the lamb. Usually it is only shown in the context of Jesus in pain as in the Isenheim Altarpiece. The Spanish name of the True Cross is „La Vera Cruz“.
But did van Eyck really have the opportunity to scrutinize this little Spanish church? As is known, Jan van Eyck travelled more than once to Spain before painting the Ghent Altarpiece and Schröer was absolutely surprised when he realized that the Fountain of Life was first mentioned 1454 as a possession of the cloister Monasteria del Parral. This building is to be found in the direct neighbourhood of La Vera Cruz. From this point on it seemed to be proofed, that van Eyck visited La Vera Cruz and used the groundplan for his composition of the Ghent Altarpiece.
Schröer also gives an idea for the interpretations of his discovery. In his view the use of the groundplan was inspired by Philipp of Burgundy and his wife Isabella of Portugal. The church symbolizes their plan for a last crusade and concrete political ambitions in Castile. But more adventurously interpretation are imaginable, too. So eventually a collection of material invites the reader to quest for himself.
Das Rätsel des Lammes
Der Genter Altar und sein Geheimnis
von Klaus Schröer
Hardcover, 172 Seiten, 87 Abb.
MV-Verlag, Münster
ISBN 978-3-86582-476-9
EUR 26,50
Klaus Schröer is an artist, a book author and a game designer. His purely mathematical interpretation of the Vitruvian man by Leonardo, published as paperback in 1998, caused a stir and is part of school education at grammar schools since then. Furthermore, Schröer has been invited as a lecturer at several great exhibitions of Leonardo.
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