Nthe sixteenth century, the ghent altarpiece, which represents the divine, was threatened by

The answer is "iconoclasts"

The Ghent Altarpiece is a huge and complex fifteenth century Early Flemish polyptych altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, ascribed to the siblings Hubert and Jan van Eyck, and considered a perfect work of art of European workmanship and one of the world's fortunes and the iconoclasm threatened it since it is the social belief in the significance of the decimation of usually religious symbols and different pictures or landmarks, most of the time for religious or political reasons.