Inspiration pack for teachers in nursery, primary and secondary education Dear teacher, “Johannes de eyck fuit hic”, or in other words: “Jan van Eyck was here.” The artist painted this well-known catchphrase in elegant handwriting above the mirror on his portrait of the Arnolfinis. It was a revolutionary act that marked the presence of the painter in art history, once and for all. “Johannes de eyck fuit hic” – you bet he was! Since 2012, the MSK has been hosting one of Van Eyck’s most illus- trious works: the Ghent Altarpiece or the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. Here we will call it the Mystic Lamb for short. A decision was made to restore the altarpiece a few years ago, and the MSK offered to give it a temporary home. The restorers from the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK) comprehensively examined and treated the panels and combined their findings. Given the spectacular results of the restora- tion, we are honouring this masterpiece by displaying the restored outer panels in a major exhibition: Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution. With the focus on these outer panels, the Mystic Lamb and the new research that has been conducted, paintings and drawings by Van Eyck are making their way to Ghent from all over the world, to be exhibited along with works by his contemporaries from Italy and the Netherlands. This will demonstrate how important the Mystic Lamb was in the past and still is today. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore the world of Van Eyck with your pupils! This inspiration pack is designed to help you get started in the classroom and to introduce or wrap up your visit to Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution. It is a collection of information, facts and assignments that you can use in the classroom to get your pupils looking forward to the exhibition or to set up a final project. The assignments are designed to encourage pupils to become familiar with Van Eyck’s late mediaeval world. You can choose your own approach: depending on your teaching methods, you can either integrate all the assignments or select a few interesting ones. Although we have suggested the most appropriate age group for each assignment, they can of course be used for pupils of various ages. We hope to welcome many of you to the museum for Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution! 2 Letter to teaching staff MSK For very young children, a museum visit is quite an adventure. What is a museum anyway? What can you see there? And what kinds of things can you do and experience? These are questions that children tend to ask spontaneously in conversations about the museum. Just try it out in class. Start a class discussion to introduce the topic of ‘the museum’ to the lessons. Use targeted questions to steer the conversation: Who has been to a museum before? What did you see there? Was it exciting? When you think of a museum, which words spring to mind? What are the rules for visiting a museum? Let us tell you a bit more about our museum. The Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) in Ghent is the oldest museum in Belgium. It has some 9,000 works in its collection, dating from the Middle Ages to the first half of the 20th century. Visual art from the Southern Netherlands takes centre stage, with sculptures, drawings and prints as well as paintings from what is now Belgium and Europe well represented in the collection. The museum is also a centre of knowledge for 19th century, fin de siècle and early 20th century art, with a special focus on Belgian art. In the MSK, old masters such as Hieronymus Bosch, Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck hang along- side Impressionists, Surrealists and Modernists such as James Ensor, Auguste Rodin, Emile Claus, René Magritte and George Minne. Exhibitions, lectures, guided tours and countless other activities are organised at the museum. There is also a fun museum shop and a restau- rant. What is more, the green Citadel Park is just outside. Explore the MSK floor plan with the group (see page 36). What could this be? How many rooms does the MSK have? What is the structure of the museum? What kinds of things belong in a museum? Can you buy things at a museum? Where can you leave your belongings? Who works at a museum? Which jobs do the museum workers do? In this way, the children will learn that many things also happen behind the scenes of the museum. 3 MSK Museum architects -> Nursery The pupils will be introduced to images of the MSK. This will teach them to identify a floor plan. Material – reproduction of the front façade of the MSK – wooden blocks – large sheet of paper – paint Assignment 1. Take a look at the façade of the MSK with the nursery pupils. What parts of it can you name? Which geometric shapes can you find together? 2. First use blocks to make a copy of the façade of the MSK. If it proves too difficult to stack the blocks, you can also make the façade on the ground. 3. Then get the children to design a new museum, by arranging the blocks on the sheet of paper in the same way first and then printing them with paint. Each child will print their own façade. For more advanced pupils 1. Based on the floor plan of the museum, design your own floor plan. Work symmetrically and use the block shapes to print the walls of the various rooms. Curator for a day -> Nursery / Primary The aim of the assignment is to encourage the pupils to think about how a museum works. Which objects do the children think are very important? Which criteria do they use in their selection? What image do the pupils get of each other by looking at the objects? Assignment Ask the pupils to bring all kinds of personal belongings to class with them. These will be objects that tell a story about the person or bring pleasant memories to mind. In class, create a small exhibition of the objects and place cards next to them, showing the title of the object and an explanation by the pupil (one or two sentences). Let the pupils come up with a name for their museum. Afterwards, half the class will visit the museum designed by the other half. Swap over after 15 minutes. The pupils must stick to the rules of the museum when walking from one museum to the other. The teacher will act as the museum guard. 4 MSK Introduction The exhibition Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution features themed rooms. Each room highlights a different aspect of Jan van Eyck, his environment and his legacy. The themes are as follows: Myth and inspiration Court and City The Fall of Man and Redemption Interior Spaces Mother and Child The Word of God The Madonna in the Church The Painted Image The Individual Vera Icon Restoration Each topic is briefly explained in this inspiration pack and supported by a number of assignments that tie in with the theme. The teacher can select a number of topics to work with in the classroom. 5 Introduction In the mood for Van Eyck -> Nursery / Primary / Secondary The main purpose of this assignment is to gain an overview of the topics that will be covered in the classroom and at the exhibition. Assignment In the classroom, create an inspiration wall on the theme of Van Eyck. On this wall, you can stick things that you associate with the Middle Ages and Van Eyck. By the end, you will have created a well-filled and inspiring mood board. Encourage the pupils to take the initiative themselves and spontaneously post things that they connect with the theme. This will make their ‘journey’ with Van Eyck a visual experience, allowing them to see in a single glance what they have achieved. The mood board will become an active tool and support in the classroom. The teacher might also subtly hang things up to announce the next themes. Keen-eyed pupils are sure to notice! Attributed to Willem van den Broecke (Paludanus), Portrait Bust of Jan van Eyck, 1545–54. mas, Antwerp. 6 Introduction 1. Myth and inspiration Background Jan van Eyck was born into a Maasland family of artists, probably from Maaseik. As well as Hubert, Jan had a younger brother Lambert and a sister Margareta, who were also painters. Jan and Hubert are always jointly named as the artists behind the Mystic Lamb, although the extent of the older brother’s participation in the work remains unclear. Hubert van Ecyk died on 18 September 1426 and was buried in the Vijd Chapel, although the Mystic Lamb was only inaugurated in this chapel 6 years later. Jan van Eyck is one of the Flemish Primitives. The term ‘Flemish Primitives’ refers to artists from the 15th and early 16th centuries in what was then known as the Southern Netherlands, which is more or less the same area as Belgium and French Flanders today. His oeuvre is characterised by a very detailed way of painting with oil paint, a technique that was perfected by the artist. Previously, artists had mainly used tempera, a type of paint made by mixing pigment with an egg yolk and water. The biggest difference between the two is that tempera is opaque and oil paint can be applied in transparent layers. This gave the paintings of the Flemish Primitives a strong sense of depth and clarity. Van Eyck’s oeuvre was forgotten over the centuries and it was not until the nineteenth century that it was rediscovered, collected and studied.