Flanders Celebrates the Year of Jan Van Eyck Virtually

A cameraman films the restored original of 'Adoration Of The Mystic Lamb' altarpiece (1432) by the brothers and Flemish artists Hubert van Eyck and Jan van Eyck at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) in Ghent, Belgium. Photo: AFP
A cameraman films the restored original of 'Adoration Of The Mystic Lamb' altarpiece (1432) by the brothers and Flemish artists Hubert van Eyck and Jan van Eyck at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) in Ghent, Belgium. Photo: AFP
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Flanders Celebrates the Year of Jan Van Eyck Virtually

A cameraman films the restored original of 'Adoration Of The Mystic Lamb' altarpiece (1432) by the brothers and Flemish artists Hubert van Eyck and Jan van Eyck at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) in Ghent, Belgium. Photo: AFP
A cameraman films the restored original of 'Adoration Of The Mystic Lamb' altarpiece (1432) by the brothers and Flemish artists Hubert van Eyck and Jan van Eyck at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) in Ghent, Belgium. Photo: AFP

If the world has not closed due to the spread of the Corvid-19 virus, Belgium would now be celebrating the year of Jan van Eyck by holding exhibitions, concerts, theater performances and festivals.

On this occasion, the Flanders region had organized many events including a major exhibition of Jan van Eyck in Ghent, reported AFP.

Before closing its doors in line with the lockdown measures aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus, the exhibition dubbed "Van Eyck: Optical Revolution" held at the fine arts museum in Ghent received 130,000 visitors since its opening on February 1. Now, the museum offers art lovers the chance to enjoy the works of the Flemish artist despite the pandemic-related measures through a number of guided virtual tours.

Historian and curator expert Till-Holger Borchert recruited all his knowledge in the guidance of the virtual tour across the "stay home exhibition" on the vaneyck.2020be website.

According to the organizes, only around 20 of works of Van Eyck, a leading figure of early Netherlandish painting, are popular, and the "Van Eyck: Optical Revolution" features 13 of them, which make it the biggest exhibition displaying the artist's works.



Musk’s Hand Gesture During Trump Inauguration Festivities Draws Scrutiny 

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures during a rally on the inauguration day of US President Donald Trump's second Presidential term, inside Capital One, in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures during a rally on the inauguration day of US President Donald Trump's second Presidential term, inside Capital One, in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)
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Musk’s Hand Gesture During Trump Inauguration Festivities Draws Scrutiny 

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures during a rally on the inauguration day of US President Donald Trump's second Presidential term, inside Capital One, in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures during a rally on the inauguration day of US President Donald Trump's second Presidential term, inside Capital One, in Washington, US, January 20, 2025. (Reuters)

Billionaire Elon Musk's hand gesture while he spoke during a celebration of President Donald Trump's inauguration drew online comparisons to a Nazi salute on Monday, but a leading tracker of antisemitism said it appeared to represent a moment of enthusiasm instead.

Musk dismissed criticism of the hand gesture as a "tired" attack.

Musk took to the Capital One Arena stage in Washington to huge cheers, pumping his arms and shouting, "Yesssss."

"This was no ordinary victory. This was a fork in the road of human civilization," he said. "This one really mattered. Thank you for making it happen! Thank you," he said.

Biting his bottom lip, he thumped his right hand over his heart, fingers spread wide, then extended his right arm out, emphatically, at an upward angle, palm down and fingers together. Then he turned and made the same hand gesture to the crowd behind him.

"My heart goes out to you. It is thanks to you that the future of civilization is assured," he said as he finished the gesture.

The gestures were quickly scrutinized online.

"Did Elon Musk Sieg Heil at Trump's inauguration?" asked the Jerusalem Post.

The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks antisemitism, disagreed.

"It seems that @elonmusk made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute, but again, we appreciate that people are on edge," it posted on Monday.

"Frankly, they need better dirty tricks. The 'everyone is Hitler' attack is sooo tired," Musk said on his social media platform X late on Monday.

Soon after his speech, Musk posted a Fox video clip of portions of his speech on X, that cut away from the podium when he made the first gesture while facing the cameras. "The future is so exciting," he wrote above it.

A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Some X users came to Musk's defense, claiming that Musk was expressing "my heart goes out to you" and criticizing posts that suggested otherwise.

Musk has backed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), an anti-immigration, anti-Islamic party labeled as right-wing-extremist by German security services, in an upcoming national election. He hosted a broadcast with the party's leader on his social media platform earlier this month.