- Art & Design
Many had been so looking forward to visiting the unique exhibition around Jan Van Eyck at the MSK in Ghent. It was to run until 30 April, but because of the coronavirus the museum had to close early. If you still want to discover the works, you can still do so: from your own living room with this beautiful coffee table book.
On 1st February, the long-awaited exhibition on Jan van Eyck, the largest ever organised, opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent. Approximately half of his twenty surviving works were brought together and presented to the general public. Dozens of international loans also travelled to Belgium. These are paintings, miniatures, sculptures and drawings by contemporaries and followers of Van Eyck. Visitors were immersed in the cultural – and consequently political and social – world of the fifteenth century. 
Discover Van Eyck from your own living room with this coffee table book.
Unfortunately, we are speaking in the past tense, because the exhibition had to close its doors much earlier than planned. But for those who were no longer able to visit the expo, we do have a bit of good news. You can still buy the book, Van Eyck - An Optical Revolution (Hannibal, Thames&Hudson) which accompanied the exhibition to experience it from a distance. 
In this richly illustrated catalogue you will not only find the complete oeuvre of the Flemish master, but also more than a hundred other masterpieces from the late Middle Ages that illustrate the historical and artistic context and demonstrate Van Eyck's influence on Western art. It is in any case highly recommended for those who want to delve even more deeply into this special period in art history and for those who have had to miss the exhibition, this is a valuable alternative.
The Dutch edition can be found here. 
Do you want to elevate your experience of these works? Then the MSK has something special in store for all art lovers. Co-curator of the exhibition Till-Holger Borchert stepped into the empty halls of the museum to give a short guided online tour to interested parties. In this way, perhaps more people than initially expected can experience the hard work of the organisation behind the exhibition with their own eyes.
Header Image: Jan van Eyck, De Annunciatie diptiek, ca. 1433 - 1435. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid