Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World's Most Coveted Masterpiece / Noah Charney

An art history whodunit? Hard to imagine, but this book often reads like a thriller. The Ghent altarpiece is one of the most stunning artworks ever created. Its unparalleled beauty and intricate symbolism also made it one of the most prestigious spoils of war throughout the centuries. Noah Charney describes the genesis of this wonderful work of art and then charts its precarious survival in spite of iconoclasts, unscrupulous caretakers, inept burglars, and foreign invaders.

The last part of the book documents Hitler’s effort to create a mega art museum in Linz with all the stolen booty from the Nazi plundering of Europe. In the final days of World War II, this priceless depository of art, including the Ghent altarpiece, was nearly destroyed in a salt mine in the Austrian Alps.

Stealing the Mystic Lamb is a bit of fascinating art history with a little Monuments Men thrown in.

Click here for an online link that shows the work in detail.

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