We were planning to go to Ghent mainly to see the Altarpiece in St Bavo's. However, the top seven panels are being restored in the Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) and St Bavo's is using photos instead.
Can you actually get a good look at these panels at the MSK?
St Bavo's is selling tickets for a 25 minutes visit (longer to see augmented reality). Can you stay as long as you want at the altarpiece or are you limited to 25 minutes?
The way the Augmented Reality is set up there, you go down into the crypt and do that program (which I highly recommend!!) and then go upstairs to the chapel where the Altarpiece is now located. You can stay as long as you want in there. On my 2 visits there since they've had it in this chapel, I noticed the crowd waxed and waned. When it got busy, I would just step back, then when it lightened up I'd move forward to look closer.
The main panel, the Mystic Lamb, was restored several years ago and is splendid. When it was under restoration, I saw it at the MSK Museum. They had it laying flat as several restorers worked on different parts with what looked like dental picks and Q-tips. It was awesome to watch. They had a specific darkened viewing gallery and I am sure that is what they are using for the final panels. Definitely go see this too, just to see how they do the restoration!
https://www.mskgent.be/en/exhibitions/restoration-ghent-altarpiece
This is such a wonderful piece of art! Have you watched the Monuments Men? It's a fictionalized account of the mission to find and restore art at the end of WWII but is quite good.
Glad to hear you can stay as long as you want. We saw the altarpiece years ago, after the restoration of the mystic lamb. We were allowed to stay as long as we wanted, but due to confusion with our tickets they just sent us up rather than being part of a group. We also watched crowds wax and wane.
It did not seem that the top panels were in need of restoration, but hard to tell at a distance behind glass.
If you're interested in restoration, the UK National Gallery has a number of videos on their YouTube channel that are well worth watching. We've seen restoration at the Brera, Rijksmuseum and elsewhere, but those tend to be well back behind glass or otherwise hard to see.
Thanks.
We were there last spring. You can spend all the time you want looking at the Altarpiece. We walked around to look at the other art within that cordoned area. Then would go back and look at the Altarpiece as the crowds waned. We also went downstairs to check out the virtual reality area as well. We were free walk back up (or elevator) back to the Altarpiece. We had no time limited once we were past the ticket taker.
When I was in Ghent in August, the panels at the museum were displayed vertically behind glass. The vertical orientation may have changed, I suppose, depending on what sort of work they're doing on them. I assume the glass is still there.
There's some very pretty stained glass in the area around the altarpiece at St. Bavo's.
Thanks for the lead on the National Gallery's videos. I'll search them out.
Since you've seen it before you may also have used this website for close up views and explanations.
https://closertovaneyck.kikirpa.be/ghentaltarpiece/#home
There's also some interesting information at this website:
https://www.kikirpa.be/en/projects/restoration-and-research-upper-open-ghent-altarpiece
IF you have small binoculars, I found it worthwhile to bring them as well. I could really zero in on the different flowers in the Mystic Lamb panel as well as look for the attributes of the different saints pictured in that panel.
So visually fascinating!
It was busy the days that I went so they were not letting you go back view the augmented reality program again. BTW, I usually get dizzy in Virtual Reality programs but with the Augmented Reality glasses you can see thru them and see the floor and walls in the crypt as you walk to the different stations.
Also, in that new area where the elevator is there are also toilets if you need to make use of them, hahaha!!
Can you actually get a good look at these panels at the MSK?
During the week, the restorers are working. At that time, the work is positioned further away from the windows that enclose the workspace. The panels being worked on can also be lying flat on the tables.
However, during the weekend, the restorers are not present, and the panels are positioned vertically near the windows, making them clearly visible.
It did not seem that the top panels were in need of restoration, but hard to tell at a distance behind glass.
You would be surprised. Overpaint was added over time, which should be removed. Not to forget new challenges, such as the treatment of particularly fragile zones of brocade imitations in tin relief on the thrones of the central figures, as well as other polychromies on silver and gold.
