16 October until 2 December 2018
©Bisdom Gent - Ellen Eeckhout
This exhibition tells the unique story of the salvage of the Ghent Altarpiece. The Ghent masterpiece was saved from destruction by the Nazis during the last days of the Second World War. The movie 'The Monuments Men’ by George Clooney tells this story and premiered at Saint Bavo's Cathedral in 2014.
The Ghent Altarpiece, or ‘The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’ by the Van Eyck brothers, completed in 1432, is recognised worldwide as a great work of art, and one of the most influential paintings ever made.
The Nazis intended to include the panels of the Ghent Altarpiece, together with many other European masterpieces, in Adolf Hitler’s Führermuseum. Because of Hitler’s impending defeat, he gave the order to take the works of art to the Altaussee Salt Mine in the Austrian federated state of Styria and blow them up. The dynamite was ready. Hitler didn’t want them to fall into the hands of the Allies. A group of brave Austrian mine workers, known as the ‘silent heroes’, foiled this diabolical plan.
The exhibition in the cathedral shows unique documents and picture of this salvage and pays tribute to these silent heroes and the US Monuments Men. You can also view other works of art by Austrian artists.
The information continues beneath the illustrations.
Agenda
Entrance Fee
Basic price
free
