| Sumario: | This film is a study of the Ghent Altarpiece, known as The Mystic Lamb, in St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent. It was begun in 1426 by Hubert van Eyck and completed by his brother, Jan van Eyck, in 1432. Jan van Eyck (1390 – 1441) is sometimes known as the founder of Early Netherlandish painting. Accompanied by the music of the time - Gilles Binchois and Guillaume Dufay - the film aims to recreate the experience of being present at the painting. The aim is always to let the painting speak for itself. Beginning with the closed wings, which explore the Mystery of the Incarnation, the film moves slowly through the images as stages of understanding what the picture is saying. The film recreates the opening of the wings (originally opened only on feast days), to disclose the birth of the new order: the Redemption of the World. The film draws particular attention to the compelling figures of Adam and Eve, whose beauty and tragic dignity create an unusually serious reflection upon the theme of the ‘Fall’ and the ‘Redemption.’ The many close-ups allow the viewer to explore the astonishing details of this painting, which are inevitably more difficult to see in the small room in St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent. These make possible what is in effect a new perception of the picture as a whole.
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