Published 17:10 IST, January 26th 2020
Restoration of 15th-century painting 'Ghent Altarpiece' that costs USD 2.4 mn goes wrong
15th-century painting called 'The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb' has been reportedly botched in restoration which altered lamb's features into human-like.
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A 15th-century Ghent Altarpiece that depicted a painting called The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb has been reportedly botched in an attempt to restore it. The restored painting flashed an altered appearance of the mystical lamb with human-like features, a duck pout and prominent eyes with critical expressions.
The painting, which was created in the year 1550, was reportedly botched by a team in Belgium who took the art restoration in their hands. According to the reports, the restoration project costs about a multi-million dollar, USD 2.4 million approximately and the lamb was a central, metaphorically significant figure in The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb painting.
The Lamb of God is profound symbolism in Christianity and medieval art, and the Ghent Altarpiece is a unique masterpiece that was initially designed by Jan and Hubert Van Eyck in the year 1432, as per the reports.
Uh, so apparently they restored the Ghent Altarpiece and pic.twitter.com/JljwfEZlzu
— Fʀ. A. Sᴄʜʀᴇɴᴋ (@frajds) January 20, 2020
The conservation initiative of the art was reportedly commenced by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in Belgium that involved overpainting of the piece using microscopes and surgical scalpel. However, according to reports, the humanoid outcome of the sacrificial sheep looking “cartoonish” has left the church members and the scholars in the international committee shocked.
Original work modified beyond belief
Twitter has started an array of comical responses to the restoration work pointing out that the original work has been modified beyond belief. A user joked about the extra pair of ears missing from the new restoration of the lamb, while another called the painting terrifying.
Some users launched hilarious memes related to the artwork. A Twitter account in the name of ‘Ghent Mystic Lamb’ was created to share lamb jokes, the bio read, “I am looking at you and I am judging you. I follow no one.”
Though once you really look it's incredibly obvious on the pre-restoration image that the thing has four ears
— Fʀ. A. J. D. S. (@frajds) January 20, 2020
Just to be clear: the new, terrifying lamb is not a "first draft" or the work of some zealous restorer's imagination. This is what the Van Eycks painted and it wasn't replaced by the more naturalistic lamb for more than a century.
— Fʀ. A. J. D. S. (@frajds) January 20, 2020
I'm dealing with it too; take it a day at a time
— Huw Richardson (@StanBobOP) January 20, 2020
https://t.co/VWHGt0fVEE pic.twitter.com/cJcSBGLRVa
— *festive* austin (@notyoursweetbab) January 20, 2020
17:10 IST, January 26th 2020