Jan van Eyck is famous for mastering the technique of oil painting and his meticulously detailed style inspired many other artists, during his own lifetime as well as during later centuries. One of the best examples of his particular style, often described as exhibiting a “microscopic-telescopic vision,” is the Altarpiece of the Lamb or Ghent Altarpiece produced by Jan and his brother Hubert. This monumental polyptych is typical of the large-scale public altarpieces commonly found in chapels which served as backdrops for the Mass. In addition to their ability to awaken devotion, these artworks were also didactic tools and they visually explained some of the complex theological concepts related to the Mass ritual. This work, one of the largest and most admired altarpieces produced in fifteenth-century Flanders, fulfills both of these functions and its sophisticated theological symbolism is characteristic of van Eyck’s works. This particular image reveals the two right lower, outer wings of the altarpiece interior, which appears when the altarpiece is open. The five panels of the lower register depict the community of saints traveling from the four corners of the earth to partake in the Adoration of the Lamb. In this image, Holy Hermits and Holy Pilgrims, identified by the inscriptions on the frame reading Heremite and Pererinis sancti, progress toward the altar on foot. The attention to the minute details of the vegetation and desert landscape are typical of Jan van Eyck’s incomparable style. ; interior approx. 11' 6'' x 15'