This is a photograph of a panel of the "Ghent Altarpiece" painted by the Van Eyck brothers between 1430-1432. There are a series of panels in the altarpiece, painted on both sides. This particular panel is called "The Just Judges", and is believed to depict contemporary figures, possibly Philip the Good and the artists themselves. The altarpiece changed hands a few times - art historian Noah Charney says it was one of the more desirable art pieces in Europe, and the victim of at least 13 crimes. It was stolen by the French and returned after the Battle of Waterloo, and pawned by the church in 1815; parts of it were purchased by the King of Prussia. The remaining panels were stolen by Germany during WWI, and all of the altarpiece returned to Ghent after the treaty of Versailles. And then in 1934, someone stole the Just Judges panel along with the painting on the reverse, and carefully sawed the panel in half to separate the two paintings. Despite witnesses, the police officer on scene was more concerned with the theft of some cheese from a shop down the street. While one side of the panel was returned and messages were exchanged, the Just Judges was never found, and the culprit never certainly identified.
