| Biography of old oil painting master Campin Robert what we can copy |
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Flémalle, Master of (Campin, Robert)
Master of Flémalle Netherlandish painter
named after three paintings in the
Städelsches Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt that
were wrongly supposed to have come from
Flémalle, near Liege. There is a strong
consensus of scholarly opinion that Campin
Robert is to
be identified with Robert Campin (active
1406-44), who was the leading painter of his
day in Tournai but none of whose documented
pictures survive. |
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The identification depends on the similarity
between the Master of Flémalle's paintings
and those of Jacques Daret and Rogier van
der Weyden, for Daret was Campin's pupil and
Rogier almost certainly was. The hypothesis
that the Master of Flémalle's paintings are
early works by Rogier now has few adherents.
While there is still doubt about the Master
of Flémalle's identity, there is no argument
about his achievement, for Campin Robert made a radical
break with the elegant International Gothic
style and ranks with van Eyck as one of the
founders of the Netherlandish school of
painting. None of the paintings given to him
is dated -- with the exception of the wings
of the Werl altarpiece of 1438 in the Prado,
a doubtful attribution -- but it seems
likely that his earliest works antedate any
surviving picture by van Eyck. |
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The earliest of all is generally thought to
be The Entombment (Courtauld Institute,
London) of about 1410/20. This still has the
decorative gold background of medieval
tradition, but the influence of Claus Sluter
is clear in the sculptural solidity and
dramatic force of the figures. The most
famous work associated with the Master of
Flémalle is the Mérode Altarpiece
(Metropolitan Museum, New York), and Campin
Robert is
indeed sometimes referred to as the Master
of Mérode. However, the attribution of this
painting has also been questioned. Among the
other works generally accepted as his are
The Marriage of the Virgin (Prado, Madrid),
The Nativity (Musee des Beaux-Arts, Dijon),
and The Virgin and Child before a Firescreen
(National Gallery, London), which shows the
homely detail and down-to-earth naturalism
associated with the artist (the firescreen
behind the Virgin's head forms a substitute
for a halo). The National Gallery also has
three portraits associated with the Master
of Flémalle. In spite of the many problems
that still surround him, Campin Robert emerges as a
very powerful and important artistic
personality. |
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