He focused on the translucent image.
With paint, van Eyck had created a reflective surface where light entered the transparent medium, then a portion bounced back through a long white line on the right side of the staff, creating a reflection in the pigment. Even the skin from the fingers was visible on its back side, looking through the staff. Incredible. He had to keep telling himself that this was not a photo.
揓an van Eyck elevated the use of oil paint to a whole new level,?she said. 揟he entire altarpiece is filled with this type of minute detail. Only now, after a thorough cleaning, and with the use of digital technology have we been able to reveal it all.?
揂nd you抮e sure what you found was the original Just Judges??
揟here抯 no question. I had the original.?
揝o why would someone burn it??
揑抳e been thinking about that all night. There抯 no definitive answer. But there are legends.?
Now he was intrigued.
揟he Ghent Altarpiece, like the Mona Lisa and some of the other great works of art, has always been surrounded by riddles. Outwardly, and in its simplest form, it抯 an ecclesiastical polyptych, a retable, an architectural feature set up at the back of an altar. Religious art. But, like I said, the notion of an abstract or a timeless painting was regarded as absurd in the fifteenth century. Art in that time period included messages, however subtle they might be. And many people have read a lot into this particular polyptych.?
He listened as she explained how some found unmistakable references to the crusades, the Knights Templar, Teutonic Knights, even supposed incantations attributed to a variety of pagan origins.
揃ut it抯 all nonsense,?she said. 揕ook at this.?
And she clicked on the Knights panel depicted on the website, the one directly adjacent to the Just Judges. Nine horsemen in battle gear, three wearing crowns, were riding toward the center panel and the adoration. She zeroed in on the lead horseman, wearing silver armor and sporting a shield with a cross of blood. At the current resolution the cross on the shield appeared solid red. But as she magnified the image, letters began to form in the red paint.
ds fortis adonay sabaot v. emel el i.h.s. xr. agla.
揝ome observers add ominu to the ds to form dominus, and manu to the emel to make emmanuel. But that抯 taking liberties with the inscription.?
揥hat does it mean??
She shrugged. 揑t抯 an odd mixture of Latin, Hebrew, Greek, and Coptic and is barely understandable. I read somewhere that it could be some sort of Middle Ages magical formula that was inscribed on weapons to make them stronger. Supposedly, it was written by the hand of God on a parchment found when Jesus was taken down from the cross.?She smiled. 揝ee what I mean? People have read many things into van Eyck抯 work.?
She told him about more wild theories. References to the Holy Grail. The Golden Fleece. Alchemy. And the philosopher抯 stone.
揝upposedly, van Eyck was passing on these secrets to later aspirants through hidden messages in the work.?
She looked lovely sitting at the kitchen table. Electric, alive, and beautiful, her voice soft but strong. She wore her order抯 dark-green smock with white trim and a high collar. No coif or veil shielded her red hair. She抎 offered him coffee, but he抎 eaten breakfast at his hotel. He was more interested in sizing up the playing field. He only had two days to work this and was determined to help in any way he could.
揟here抯 something in the images you made that other people either want, or want kept secret,?he said to her. 揝omething that woman died for.?
揥ere you there??
He nodded. 揑 saw it all.?
Her eyes warmed. 揑 know how bad that must have been.?
揑 would have preferred not to have seen that. But I did.?
She gripped his wrist. He smiled and let her know that he appreciated the gesture.
She withdrew her hand. 揂ll those other crazy theories aside, let me say that it would not be shocking if we discovered that a true secret did lurk somewhere in the altarpiece. A learned theologian advised Jan van Eyck. Most likely, Olivier de Langhe, the prior of the Ghent church at the time. Even more important, this was the only work of Jan van Eyck抯 intended for public display. All of his other paintings were private commissions. So van Eyck knew a lot of people would see the altarpiece. The only question seems to be, what抯 there that required the Just Judges to be destroyed??
A phone chimed.
Not his. Kelsey抯。
She reached for the unit and answered, listening for a few moments, then saying, 揧es, ma抋m. I抣l be there.?She ended the call. 揟hat was my prioress. She抯 here, in Ghent, and wants to see me.?
He was intrigued. 揥hen and where??
揙ne p.m., at Saint Bavo抯。 She wants me to bring my laptop.?