The supreme masterpiece of the brothers van Eyck, the work which, in the history of Flemish art, has played the part that was allotted to Masaccio's frescoes at the Carmine, Florence, in the art of Italy, is the gigantic polyptych painted for the chapel of the Vydt family in the Cathedral of St. John (now St. Bavo) in Ghent, and known from the subject of the chief panel as the _Adoration of the Lamb_. In its original form this altar-piece, which is now divided between St. Bavo Cathedral and the museums of Berlin and Brussels, was composed of twelve interior panels and a predella (which has unfortunately been destroyed). Including the backs of the shutters, which, like the panels themselves, are covered with the most minute and exquisite painting, the painted surface extends to over 1,000 square feet. The centre panel alone, from which the whole altar-piece takes its name, measures 7¼ feet in width by 4½ feet in height. {47} Horizontally the whole altar-piece is divided into three portions. The central panel of the middle tier is occupied by the _Adoration of the Lamb_. Like the rest of the picture, it is treated in a decorative spirit, the grouping of the figures, the architecture, and the foliage being almost geometrically arranged and balanced. In a very beautiful and peaceful landscape is set up, on a green mound in the centre, an altar, upon which stands the Lamb of God. Its breast is pierced in the customary manner, the sacred blood flowing into a chalice at its feet. Immediately around the altar fourteen angels, symbolical, probably, of the stations of the Passion of Christ, kneel in adoration. The two in front of the altar offer incense, while emblems of the Passion are held by others. The cross is held on the left, and the pillar of the scourging stands on the right. In the foreground, also in the centre and below the altar, is the Fountain of Life, which divides two groups of worshippers: on the left are the Jewish prophets and patriarchs of the Old Testament, whilst the crowd on the right is composed of Popes, Bishops, priests, monks, and laymen. In the background, emerging from the luxuriant forest immediately behind {48} the altar, two processions slowly wend their way. The group on the right is composed of holy women, foremost of whom come St. Agnes with a lamb, St. Catherine, and others. The Procession on the left again includes Popes, Bishops, and monks. These are said to be the confessors. Above all hovers the Holy Ghost in the form of the dove.