The Ghent Altarpiece now in ultra-high resolution
The monumental and world-famous early 15th century painting 'The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb', by the brothers Van Eyck, and which hangs in St Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent, can now be viewed online in ultra-high gigapixel resolution on the Google Arts & Culture platform. Or at least the eight restored outer panels. The Altarpiece depicts the redemption of humanity by Christ's sacrifice of the cross. Art lovers from around the world can now zoom in to the minutest details, which are unobservable with the naked eye.
The project saw the light of day thanks to the close collaboration between the Google Arts & Culture team, St. Bavo's Cathedral and Lukas - Art in Flanders, which manages digital images for Flemish museums and heritage collections. It is a unique form of public-private cooperation in the cultural sector. Google Arts & Culture photographed and digitised the outer panels using the art camera, and made hundreds of close-ups of them.
The inner panels of the Ghent Altarpiece are currently being restored, and will be presented to the public in 2019.
There is also an online exhibition containing more information about the history of this work of art.