Merode Altarpiece - Key Facts

KEY FACTS

KEY FACTS

Artist

The workshop of Robert Campin

Date

1425-27

Style

Northern Renaissance

Patron

Jan/Peter Engelbrecht

STYLE AND FORMAL QUALITIES

STYLE AND FORMAL QUALITIES

Subject

• Triptych depicting the Annunciation

• Two side panels featuring the patrons and Joseph in his carpentry studio

Opening/closing of the altarpiece

• Allowed the altarpiece to be open and closed in line with the liturgical calendar

Central panel (the Annunciation)

• Angel Gabriel and Virgin Mary

• Placed in a contemporary domestic setting - unusual and perhaps intended to create a more relatable Madonna for the viewer

Right hand panel (Joseph)

• Joseph in his workshop surrounded by carpentry tools

• Large window opens up onto a market square - perhaps the town of the artist or patron

• Establishes closer personal connection with the viewer

Left hand panel (patrons)

• Patrons depicted in traditional kneeling donor portraits

• Placement of door suggest that the figures are looking into the central panel of the Annunciation - places patrons even closer to the holy figures

Small size

• suggests the altar piece was designed for domestic use

• panels of the triptych can be folded in - could be easily transported by the owner

Northern Renaissance style

• minute attention to detail

• focus on luxurious fabrics

• heightened realism

• symbolism

ICONOGRAPHY AND MEANING

ICONOGRAPHY AND MEANING

Symbol of the Virigin’s humanity

• seated position presents her as the ‘Virgin of humility’

• contemporary setting and clothing

• creates empathy with the viewer

Symbol foreshadowing Christ’s death

• golden rays shining through the window containing the figure of the Christ child and the cross

• Joseph’s carpentry tools and the rusted nails on the window allude to Christ’s crucifixion

Symbols of the Annunciation

• lily (Gabriel’s attribute)

• extinguished candle - signifies the presence of the holy spirit

Symbols of the purity of the Virgin

• bronze laver and tower symbolizes her cleanliness

• ‘hortus conclusus’ (enclosed garden) where the patrons kneel signify the Virgin’s closed off womb

HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND FUNCTION

HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND FUNCTION

Rising merchant class in Flanders

• towns and ports grew in size and number as it became the major centre for trade in northern Europe

• Flemish towns functioned as a crucible for both the highly specialised artists and wealthy merchant class patrons

Patronage during the Northern Renaissance

• Contemporary religious belief encourage private meditation in whic the viewer was expected to empathise with the holy figures

• patron is immortalised within the altarpiece as a witness to the Annunciation

• patron would probably have prayed in front of the image on a daily basis

ARTISTIC PRODUCTION AND PATRONAGE

ARTISTIC PRODUCTION AND PATRONAGE

Engelbrecht (patron)

• likely that the altarpiece was purchased at the time of Jan Engelbrecht’s betrothal/marriage

• the Annunciation would have been suitable a suitable theme fro a marriage and supported patron’s hope of children

• links directly to the patron’s name (Engelbrecht = angel brings)

Panels

• the Annunciation (central panel) was completed first and purchased by the patron

• side panels added at a later date

• wife’s portrait was the final addition to commemorate their marriage

Campin (artist)

• believed to have been produced in the workshop of Robert Campin

• Campin - one of the Flemish Primitives (most celebrated group of Northern Renaissance painters)

  • detailed observation, rich imagery and complex symbolism

Sense of space

• impossible, unreal space - awkward positioning of the tables and monumental size of the figures

• all three panels have different vanishing points and horizon lines

  • suggests Brunelleschi’s development of linear perspective in 1415 in Italy had not travelled to Northern countries yet

oil paint

• sense of extreme realism and verisimilitude

• slow drying allws for precision of detail

• remains workable for longer than egg tempera which means the artist can create greater modulations of colour to add depth

CULTURAL IDENTITY

CULTURAL IDENTITY

Norther Renaissance style vs Italian Renaissance style

• Northern artists

  • perfection of oil paint

  • almost impossible representation of minute detail

  • clearly distinguished from Italian art

  • departed from Italian idealism - highly individualised figures

  • place figures in a more contemporary, recognisable setting in order to appeal their merchant class patrons