Speaker Gordon Murphy

Rotary club of Stirling meeting of 23/3/18.

President Stewart Wilson welcomed members to our Friday meeting.

Our speaker was one of our own members, Gordon Murphy, who talked about a painting which had impressed him, The Adoration of the Lamb by Van Eyck, the altarpiece of Ghent cathedral. The painting, finished in 1432, is certainly impressive and highly significant in the history of early Dutch art, depicting as it does one of the central beliefs of Christianity, " Behold the lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world”. The wood was cut in 1421 and after about 10 years to season was used to create this 12-panel masterpiece. Such an important commission would have required extensive planning. It was painted by the brothers Hubert and Jan Van Eyck, but as Hubert died in 1426, it must be in large part the work of Jan. Apart from being one of the most significant early Dutch paintings, the altarpiece has had an eventful history. It was taken to Paris by Napoleon, returning to Ghent after the battle of Waterloo, and before WW1 the side panels were sold to Germany, with the central panels following during the war, returning to Ghent after the Treaty of Versailles. In 1934 part of the left-hand panel was stolen and has never been recovered. Inevitably, during WW2 the painting was taken by Hitler, and in the later stages of the war ended up hidden in a salt mine for safety. Although Gordon is not usually interested in religious art, the scale and beauty of this picture and its eventful history obviously caught his imagination.

The VOT was given by Alex Galloway.  Next meeting of the club 30th March, Speaker's host, Peter Mehta, Visitor's host Faye McPherson.

Ian Richardson