Widely regarded as the founding monument of the Northern Renaissance, the Ghent Altarpiece (also known as the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb) was commissioned for the Saint Bavo Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium, by the wealthy merchant Joos Vijd and his wife Elisabeth Borluut. Begun by Hubert van Eyck, the massive project was completed by his younger brother Jan van Eyck in 1432 after Hubert's death in 1426. The altarpiece is a complex polyptych consisting of twelve folding panels.

Technically, the Ghent Altarpiece represents one of the greatest revolutions in art history. The Van Eyck brothers refined the use of oil paint (mixing pigments with linseed oil) at a time when quick-drying, egg-based tempera was the dominant medium. The slow drying time of oil allowed Jan van Eyck to build up thin, translucent layers of glaze that captured and reflected light. This technique enabled him to depict textures — the heavy folds of velvet robes, the metallic gleam of armor, the sparkle of jewels, the softness of human flesh, and the botanical details of plants — with an unprecedented, jewel-like realism.

When the altarpiece is opened, the upper register features a central Deesis (God the Father flanked by the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist), flanked by singing angels and the figures of Adam and Eve — some of the earliest naturalistic, life-sized nudes in Northern art. The lower register features the central panel, 'The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb,' depicting a bleeding lamb (representing Christ's sacrifice) standing on an altar, surrounded by angels, apostles, prophets, and martyrs in a lush, idealized landscape. The altarpiece is also historically notable as one of the most frequently plundered artworks in history, having been taken by French revolutionaries, hidden from Nazi looters (who stored it in a salt mine), and surviving the permanent theft of one of its panels (The Just Judges) in 1934.