Toda obra de arte encierra el misterio de su propia creación. ¿Cuál es el motivo por el que consigue fascinar a espectadores que van más allá de un lugar y una época? El caso de La adoración del cordero místico constituye un caso único. Y es que la atracción que ha ejercido la obra maestra de Jan van Eyck excede las explicaciones que puedan dar los historiadores del arte. Desde que el maestro flamenco lo finalizara en 1432, este retablo ha sufrido todo tipo de vicisitudes. Haber sido robado hasta trece veces no constituye más que una pequeña parte de su increíble historia. Ha sido botín de guerra en tres ocasiones, ha sufrido quemaduras y desmembraciones, fue falsificado, vendido ilegalmente y censurado, sufrió ataques de iconoclastas y ha sido codiciado por Hitler y rescatado por agentes dobles austríacos? Entre muchas otras cosas.¿Qué secreto esconde el retablo? Noah Carney, especialista en delitos relacionados con el arte, narra las historias que se tejen en torno a la obra de Van Eyck. Párrocos, contrabandistas y falsificadores se encuentran con figuras históricas como Napoleón, Göring o Hitler. La historia se entrelaza con el arte, la psicología, la ideología, la religión y la política para explicar la atracción fatal que ha ejercido esta pintura. Un libro inteligente y trepidante sobre el poder del símbolo y de la belleza.

Fascinating story of a 15th Century altar piece, looted several times. I was left with a sense that the most recent heist was an unfinished story. The detail and emphasis on the systemic Nazi looting somewhat overpowered the history of Van Eyck's masterpiece. I've not read Charney before, so I don't know whether such side-tracking in a story is typical of this author's work. ( )

Fascinating look at the troubled history of one of the most famous works of art, The Ghent Altarpiece. This book delves into the artist of the piece as well as the time, the people, and the other history surrounding it. The Ghent Altarpiece is the most stolen piece of art of all time. It has been stolen, illegally sold, hunted by Nazis, (think Monuments Men) dismembered and so much more. We read this book for our book club and there was so much to discuss. Who really painted it, the symbols found in the panels, where the missing panel is, and so forth. The only thing I did not like about the book were the pictures. They just did not do justice to the art piece. However there are several books out there that have great photos of it. If you are interested in art history at all, read this book! ( )

I have read a number of books similar to this, but I found Stealing the Mystic Lamb to be dry and slow. It is not a shining example of this type of book, although it is clearly very well researched. ( )

It's great to see Van Eyck's magnificent painting getting some popular coverage in this fascinating book. As with most books in this genre, it's somewhat sensationalistic and exaggerates somewhat in order to make all of this into a compelling narrative. Nonetheless, it's a fun and quick read, and certainly makes the history of this painting interesting. I also quite like the idea of a popular history book that traces the history of a single object through time. ( )