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1427-29 Oil on wood, 164,5 x 71,5 cm Cathedral of St Bavo, Ghent The two panels depicting the angels playing music and singing are the most famous details of the altar-piece. Although it has been proposed that they were originally designed to be parts of an organ housing, they clearly fit into the iconographic concept. Connected with the trio of God the Father, surrounded by the Virgin Mary and St John the Baptist, these wingless angels belong to the "heavenly domain", and they not only sing the praises of the Lord but also invoke the music of the spheres. At the same time, their presence is connected to the events depicted in the lower part of the panels: the use of identical sky background proves this. , EYCK, Jan van , The Ghent Altarpiece: Singing Angels , 1401-1450 , Flemish , painting , religious |
