One of the treasures of Lyneal and Colemere Church, which has been in storage for many years, can now be seen in the North arch of the chancel. It is a valuable chromolithographic reproduction of one of the world’s most coveted and frequently stolen works of art. How it came to be at Colemere is a mystery, but we do know that it was made around the time the Church was built.
The much larger restored original, painted by Jan van Eyck and completed by one of his sons in 1432, is in Saint Bavo’s Cathedral, Ghent. The altarpiece is considered a masterpiece of European art and one of the world’s treasures. It was the first major oil painting, and it marked the transition from Middle Age to Renaissance art.
Later this year we are hoping to have an event to explore the fascinating detail of this extraordinary work of religious art.
Christopher Jobson
