Campin
was born around 1380 in Tournai, where he qualified as a master in 1406/07.
Together with the Van Eyck brothers,
he may be considered the founder of the Netherlandish painting of the Early
Renaissance. While the influence of the Limburg brothers and Burgundian
court art can still be felt in his early work (Betrothal of the Virgin
and Annunciation), he soon turned to three-dimensional figure
representation and the exploration of depth: Nativity.
(c. 1425-1430). These reach a climax in Campin’s late works, in which the
painter becomes almost obsessed with perspective (The
Mérode Altar, so called after its original location,
now in Metropolitan Museum). He was probably the teacher of Rogier
van der Weyden from 1427 to 1432.
Not all art historians agree that Campin and Master of Flémalle,
the name given to the unknown author of the altarpiece from Flémalle
monastery, is the same person.
Bibliography:
Painting of Europe. XIII-XX centuries. Encyclopedic Dictionary.
Moscow. Iskusstvo. 1999.
Robert
Campin: A Monographic Study With Critical Catalogue by Felix
Thuerlemann. Prestel Publishing, 2002.
Robert
Campin: New Directions in Scholarship by S. Foister, S. Nash.
Brepols Publishers, 1996.