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The world of the Ghent Altarpiece - guided tour at MSK in Ghent

Hello all. I am hoping that someone has taken the Ghent Altarpiece guided tour at MSK in Ghent and can share what the tour is like. Online there is very little information besides how long the tour is and the cost of it. Thank you so much!

Posted by
589 posts

Can you provide a link to the tour you have in mind?
In my opinion, there are only guided tours for groups. AFAIK the individual guided tour is only available in Dutch.

Posted by
2688 posts

I was there earlier this year. The tour using AR glasses was a new thing to me and a little strange but informative. I would recommend it. You go first to the tour and then to the altarpiece itself.

Here's what AI has to say:

To visit the Ghent Altarpiece (The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb), you must book tickets in advance to St. Bavo's Cathedral tour of the crypt that offers deep historical context.

Key Tips for Visiting:
Booking: Online booking is strongly recommended to secure a timeslot and avoid queues.
Location: The painting is in the Sacrament Chapel inside St. Bavo's Cathedral (Sint-Baafskathedraal) in the city center.
Experience: The standard visit includes a 60-minute tour using AR glasses to explore the cathedral's history and the painting's details.

Posted by
1046 posts

I think there may be some misunderstanding in some of the responses above or possibly with the OP question. The altarpiece is on display in St. Bravo's cathedral as described. One option for viewing it in St. Bravo's is the augmented reality tour where you where special glasses and a headphone as described. I did this and found it very worthwhile when I was there a couple years ago. However, I believe the OP is asking about the restoration exhibition of select panels in the MSK museum, a totally separate site located in a different part of Gent. closer to the train station. I found the MSK museum well worth a visit for the art that is there, not just the panels. Several of the original panels are there being restored and there is some information without a tour on the preservation process and the panels. My understanding from the website is that tours of the restoration exhibition are only available for groups with a price off 100 Euros for up to 15 adults (and a lower price for school groups of children). I do not know anyone who has done that tour.

Added: I just remembered that there was some kind of private group in the MSK while I was there. It wasn't clear to me if this was a private tour guide or arranged by the museum or whether is was just for the panels. I did try to listen in a bit without being too obvious. I don't remember my impression of the parts I heard.

Posted by
10 posts

It is the group tour for 100 euro at MSK. We have a small family group and I am looking for more information on what is on that tour. Thanks.

Posted by
105 posts

We didn't take a guided tour, however as mentioned above, St. Bravo's offers as an 'add on' reality tour where you wear a special visor and audio/headphones - and that we did. We were hesitant about doing it, but ended up really enjoying it! We found it very informative and it absolutely enriched our experience of seeing the altarpiece. I recall it being not much more than the entrance fee and I think it took about an hour. It was totally worth it!

Posted by
2326 posts

As already pointed out earlier, the question of the OP is not about the St Bavo cathedral, but about the MSK. MSK is short for Museum voor Schone Kunsten, which translates as Museum of Fine Art.
Currently some of the panels of the Altarpiece are being restored in the restoration workshops of the MSK. During the week you can watch, thru a large window, how they’re hard at work restoring the paintings. I visited a couple of years ago and found it interesting to see the painstaking work it takes to restore these panels. I didn’t take the guided tour though.

Posted by
62 posts

the MSK tour isn't of the finished altarpiece, it's of the live restoration. The remaining panels are being restored in a studio at the museum, and the guide walks you through the process, watching conservators at work behind glass, what's being uncovered, etc. It's more about the restoration story than the finished artwork.

For the completed panels in their traditional setting, that's at St Bavo's Cathedral nearby. Many visitors do both in one day, MSK for the restoration story, St Bavo's for the altarpiece itself. Worth booking the MSK tour in advance since it's small-group.

Posted by
589 posts

The website clearly states : The guide will also introduce you to contemporaries in the MSK's collection and to the world of the Flemish Primitives.

So besides what KnightRd explains, the guide will certainly bring you to some paintings of the Flemish primitives.

It is highly likely that the next works will be commented on

The Adoration of the Magi by Colijn de Coter
https://www.mskgent.be/en/collection/1950-a

Calling of Saint Matthew by Marinus van Reymerswale
https://www.mskgent.be/en/collection/s-86

The Madonna of the Carnation
https://www.mskgent.be/en/collection/1954-s

... and some others.

Posted by
1046 posts

As I previously mentioned, I crossed paths with a tour in the MSK and listened in from a polite distance to a bit of it. Windyram's post helped jog my memory. The group I observed appeared to have some knowledgeable participants based on questions they asked. For the OP, you indicated you are a small family group. If everyone in your group has a fairly serious in art history, this could be great experience to combine with seeing the actual altarpiece If not, the available MSK audio tour might be sufficient.

Posted by
358 posts

Oh, well sorry, I misread your question and started to reply about seeing the Altarpiece itself, but that's not what you are asking, is it? I LOVED visiting St. Bavo's and seeing the Altarpiece but I didn't take that tour you're talking about.