This newly restored 15th-century lamb is worrying art lovers

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There are no words to express the result" was the beaming reaction of Belgium's Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage, after a 15th-century masterpiece -- painted over shortly after completion -- was restored to its former glory.

And they were right -- commentators have been left speechless by one particular aspect of the newly revealed painting.

The latest panel of the "Ghent Altarpiece," a large work by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, was unveiled in December as part of an ongoing project to restore the painting to its original design.

The painting -- also known as "The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" -- depicts a lamb, representing Jesus, being sacrificed on an altar.

And it's this holy lamb that's giving viewers nightmares.

Why? Well, the creature's remarkably human eyes are just a bit too lifelike -- not to mention intense -- for many amateur art critics.

The project's head, Hélène Dubois, told The Art Newspaper the discovery was "a shock for everybody -- for us, for the church, for all the scholars, for the international committee following this project."

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