Robert Campin

Nativity, detail, c 1420

Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified as the artist known as the Master of Flémalle, is usually considered the first great master of Flemish and Early Netherlandish painting. His identity and the attribution of the paintings in the "Campin group" has been a matter of controversy for decades. His life is relatively well documented for the period,[1] but he did not sign his paintings, and none could be securely connected with him, whilst a corpus of work attached to the unidentified "Master of Flémalle".[2][3]

By 1406 he was active in Tournai, in today's Belgium. His early work shows the influence of the International Gothic painters the Limbourg brothers (1385 – 1416) and Melchior Broederlam (c. 1350 – c.1409), but display a realistic observation than any earlier artists, which he achieved through innovations in the use of oil paints. He was successful in his lifetime, and the recipient of a number of civic commissions. Campin taught both Rogier van der Weyden and Jacques Daret. He was a contemporary of Jan van Eyck, and they met in 1427. Campin's best known work is the Mérode Altarpiece, dated c 1425-28, now in New York.

Life

The Seilern Triptych or Entombment of Christ, c 1425. Only two of Campin's triptychs survive[3]
The Mérode Altarpiece, Robert Campin, 1425-1428

Campin first appears as settled in Tournai from the archives of 1405–6, as a free master of the guild of painters, and there has been a lot of speculation about his origin and birthplace which is actually unknown, although he is sometimes listed as having been born in Valenciennes.[4] In 1410 he bought into citizenship, suggesting he was not born there.

He attained the offices of dean of the guild and wardenship of a church and other civic office, and eventually ran a large workshop. By 1432, however, he lost his civic positions because of scandals, and probably his role in political disturbances in the city. In 1429 he was found guilty of withholding evidence, and sentenced to go on a pilgrimage, and in 1432 was convicted of adultery and banished for a year.

Margaret of Burgundy, wife of the Count of Holland and sister of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy intervened on his behalf, and this was reduced to a fine.[1][2] The dated Werl Altarpiece (1438) shows he continued to work (the two outer wings are in the Prado; the main panel is lost). He died in Tournai.

Identity and style

Right hand panel of the 1438 The Werl Triptych, now in the Prado, Madrid

Although heavily indebted to 14th century manuscript illumination, Campin displayed greater powers of realistic observation than any other painter before him. He was one of the first to experiment with the use of oil-based colors, in lieu of egg-based tempera, to achieve the brilliance of color typical for this period. Campin used the new technique to convey strong, rounded characters by modelling light and shade in compositions of complex perspectives. It remains a matter of debate how far the complex symbolism that is generally accepted as existing in the work of Van Eyck also exists in the work of Campin.

Art historians have long been keen to trace the beginnings of the Northern Renaissance - with far less evidence to go on than in Italy. For a long time it was thought that Jan van Eyck was the first painter to make full use of the innovations apparent in manuscript illumination in panel painting. By the end of the 19th century it became clear, however, that Van Eyck was the contemporary of an artist who painted a number of works, including the Mérode Altarpiece. Dated to about 1428, the altarpiece (now in the Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum) is permeated with loving attention to details and realism. Three other panels in a similar manner, supposed to come from the so-called abbey of Flémalle (it has been established that there was, in fact, no such abbey), are now in Frankfurt. It was argued that these works belong to one "Master of Flémalle", whose identity at that time could not be established.

Portrait of St. Veronica, attributed to Robert Campin

In the 20th century, several scholars suggested that the Master of Flémalle may be Robert Campin, documented as a master painter in Tournai from 1406. The argument turns around a paper mentioning two pupils entering his studio in 1427 - Jacques Daret and Rogelet de la Pasture. The latter was probably Rogier van der Weyden. A very well-documented altarpiece by Daret shows striking similarities with the works of Master of Flémalle, as do early works by Rogier. Therefore, it is tempting to assume that both Daret and Rogier were disciples of the Master of Flémalle, i.e. Robert Campin. Another possibility, however, is that the Flémalle panels were painted by Rogier himself when he was still in his twenties. Some scholars have even attributed the famous Deposition in the Prado (Madrid) to Campin rather than Van der Weyden.

The tightest definition of the works from his own hand includes only the "Flémalle" panels, a 'Nativity at Dijon, a Crucified Thief (fragment of a Crucifixion) in Frankfurt, two portraits of a man and woman in London (of around 1430), and perhaps the Seilern Triptych. This, which excludes the best known works usually attributed to him, which are then assigned to his workshop or followers, is the position taken by Lorne Campbell.[2]

Work

The Entombment Triptych (or "Seilern Triptych" Courtauld Institute, London) is dated to around 1425.[5] The central panel shows his debt to the sculpture of the time (Campin was known to have polychromed several statues). After this, he painted the Marriage of the Virgin (Museo del Prado, Madrid) and Nativity (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon) around 1420-1425.

Around 1425-1428 Campin painted the Mérode Altarpiece, a triptych (three paneled paintings) commissioned for private use. The Annunciation occupies the central panel. The Archangel Gabriel is shown approaching Mary, who sits reading. She is depicted in a well-kept middle-class Flemish home. Several works attributed to Robert Campin may be seen in the Hermitage, including diptych panels depicting The Holy Trinity and The Virgin and Child. Other works are displayed in the Prado, and the London National Gallery.

Selected works

References

  1. 1 2 Campbell, Lorne. "Robert Campin, the Master of Flémalle and the Master of Mérode". The Burlington Magazine, Volume 116, No. 860, Nov. 1974. 634-646
  2. 1 2 3 Fragments remain probably from some wall-paintings for which he was paid in 1406-7. See Campbell (1998), 72
  3. 1 2 Jacobs, 33
  4. ↑ "Walloon historians not unnaturally wish to believe that so early and considerable an artist was of French-speaking origin. They note that the name Campin is not uncommon in Hainault, notably at Valenciennes, where it occurs frequently at this period ; and they further, and with obvious force, point out that on a critical occasion our Robert received potent protection from the Duchess of Hainault, when he had been condemned to a year's exile because of his dissolute life. Nevertheless, it is tempting to look elsewhere for his origin. His very name suggests the Limbourg Campine in the neighbourhood of Maastricht, whence came the Van Eycks and the de Limbourgs and other famous artists of this generation. At Maastricht was an important school of art of ancient standing to which all of these men were debtors. Further, when Robert Campin settled at Tournay he brought with him his wife, Isabella of Stockhem, and Stockhem is " a village on the left bank of the Maas within a short distance of Maaseyck." p.111/112 in MARTIN CONWAY "The Van Eycks and their followers". The town of Stockhem, now called Stokkem, forms a part of Dilsen-Stokkem on the left bank of the river Maas/Meuse close to Maasmechelen and Maaseik.
  5. ↑ The Seilern Triptych - The Entombment A & A art & archtitecture, 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013. Archived here.

Sources

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