A New Look at Ancient Jan Van Eyck's Paintings

After a visit to the just opened installation on the MET's rooftop, I went into the gallery housing works by Jan van Eyck (b. Netherlands 1390-1441.)  The ancient diptych of "The Crucification" and "Judgement" is both ghastly & fascinating.  While the "Psycho House" installation drew a crowd on the roof, I had the entire gallery to myself. Van Eyck's depiction of Hades is horrifying & incredibly detailed.  The more you look (and there are magnifying glasses on hand) the more you can discern in the "Judgement."  It is a where's Waldo of where to find heinous torments.  The elevated, celestial beings above are haloed and feasting around a banquet table.  See if you can find the figures below wearing the same religious headgear as those on the higher plane.  Between the chaos underground and the figures being towed below, this painting is a gruesome nightmare.  The "Crucifixion"  painting is not as ghoulish.  Most people & horses are facing towards the Crucifixions, away from the viewer except for a huddle of grieving women in the forefront.  The use of x-radiography recently revealed text beneath the gold paint on the frame text in Flemish in Gothic minuscule script.  These works are more than 600 years old.  It is exciting to examine these works as an archeologist or art historian.  These Van Eycks paintings from the 15th C are far more intriguing than the new installation of an appropriated movie prop on the roof.  Sadly, far fewer are taking the time to discover something new in a very old work by the most significant Northern Renaissance artist of the 15th C.