Ghent Altarpiece - History

History

The altarpiece has been moved several times over the centuries. The panels were cleaned in 1550, at which time art historians have suggested some changes may have been made to the painting. The predella—showing a hell scene, painted in water based paints—was destroyed by fire in the 16th century. During the Protestant Reformation the piece was moved out of the chapel to prevent damage in the Beeldenstorm; first to the attic and later to the town hall, where it remained for two decades.

Art historian Noah Charney describes the altarpiece as one the more coveted and desired pieces of art, the victim of 13 crimes since its installation, and seven thefts. After the French Revolution the altarpiece was among a number of art works plunder in todays Belgium and taken to Paris where they were exhibited at the Louvre. It was returned to Ghent in 1815 after the French defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

The painting's wings (not including the Adam and Eve panels) were pawned in 1815 by the Diocese of Ghent for the equivalent of £240. When the Diocese failed to redeem them, they were sold by the dealer Nieuwenhuys in 1816 to the English collector Edward Solly for £4,000. The pieces spent some months in London, during which time the new owner unsuccessfully sought a buyer. They were later bought by the King of Prussia for £16,000, a huge price at the time, and for many decades they were exhibited in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. The panels still in Ghent were damaged by fire in 1822, and the separately hinged Adam and Eve panels sent to a museum in Brussels.

During World War I, other panels were taken from the cathedral by German forces. According to Treaty of Versailles, Germany returned all the panels, and after a century of separation, in 1920, all the panels were again in Ghent. In the following decade, the The Just Judges panel was stolen in 1934.

The Germans "bitterly resented the loss of the panels", and at the start of another conflict with Germany in 1940, a decision was made in Belgium to send the painting to the Vatican to keep it safe. The painting was en route to the Vatican, in France, when Italy declared war as an Axis power alongside Germany. The painting was stored in a museum in Pau for the duration of the war, and French, Belgian and German military representatives signed an agreement which required the consent of all three before the masterpiece could be moved. In 1942, Adolf Hitler ordered the painting to be seized and brought to Germany to be stored in the Schloss Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria. After Allied air raids made the castle too dangerous for the painting, it was stored in the Altaussee salt mines. Belgian and French authorities protested the seizing of the painting, and the head of the German army's Art Protection Unit was dismissed after he disagreed with the seizure.

The altarpiece was recovered by the Americans after the war and returned to Belgium in a ceremony presided over by Belgian royalty at the Royal Palace of Brussels, where the 17 panels were displayed for the press. No French officials were invited, as the Vichy French had allowed the Germans to remove the painting to Germany.