Jan Van Eyck The Last Judgement

At the Cathedral of Saint Bavo in Ghent, Belgium, an enduring masterpiece of an altar decoration comprised of wood and oil stands three meters tall. The great Jan Van Eyck, a maestro in the demanding oil technique, completed the Ghent Altarpiece in 1432 (Stolkstad and Cothren, 576-577). Approximately 16 hours away in Rome, The Last Judgment, a fourteen-meter high fresco, ornaments the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The unrivaled Michelangelo Buonarroti, known for his breathtaking sculptures and paintings, finished the fresco in 1541(Stolkstad and Cothren, 666-668). With varying artists, techniques, mediums, circumstances and 109 years between them, a layman would assume that these pieces’ only similarity was their predetermined residence in
Instead of a reflection, the two pieces utilize these characteristics to create a seemingly impossible aura, which if side-by-side, would serve as a chronological diptych. To commence the comparison, a historical background and characterization of each painting must first be evaluated. Although the open view of the Ghent Altarpiece is more comparable to The Last Judgment, the closed view assists the explanation of the origins of Van Eyck’s creation. Stolkstad (576) explains that Jodocus Vijd, a city official commissioned the piece for his jurisdiction’s cathedral. He and his wife are portrayed on the lower margins of the altarpiece, a practice customary of commissioned religious works. The commissioners are shown praying to John the Baptist and John the evangelist (Stolkstad and Cothren, 576). Overhead, the scene of the annunciation shows the angel Gabriel proclaiming to the Virgin Mary that she will give birth to a child and name him Jesus. Stolkstad (576) points out that sibyls and prophets grace the top with flowing scrolls foretelling Christ’s coming to the world. The interior, according to Stolkstad (576), is only exhibited on Sundays and
According to Camara (Khan Academy), Paul III aimed to combat the Protestant Reformation through the visual arts. There was no better way to convince Catholics that the reformation was rubbish than creating a 48-foot image of the sinful and heretic individuals literally being dragged to Hell as the faithful rise to Heaven. Yet again, Christ is centered in the upper half of the fresco. The Virgin Mary to his left and Saint John the Baptist and Peter to his right (obviously mirrored). They reside in Heaven with the masses, as they look down upon, as the title states, The Last Judgment. People on the left (of the viewer, right hand of Christ) are ascending into Heaven as their reflection across the painting falls into the grasp of demons facilitating their descent into Hell. Hell contains Greek mythology within its characters. Minos and Charon welcome their newest members with pronounced gratification. Charon flogs the damned with his paddle as they cross the River Styx while Minos is portrayed as a nagging Cardinal that chafed Michelangelo at every turn. Another important characteristic of the fresco is the self-portrait Michelangelo placed within it. Skinned and within the grip saint Bartholomew, Michelangelo’s facial features can be seen in his pelt (Stolkstad and Cothren, 668). Some interpret this to be a symbol of Michelangelo’s self-appraised