Flemish Painting
During the fifteenth and sixteenth century, one of the key aesthetic goals of the Netherlandish art is realism. The realism of figures, setting, and especially space is a distinguished aspect of the early Netherlandish painters and it has long been seen as a feature in paintings, retables and other various art forms. At times, the realism in the artworks of the Netherlands represent a variety of aesthetic and/or religious reasons; however, a majority of the Netherlandish artists were concerned with attaining realistic interpretation and Robert Campin is one of them. Although Campin was a Flemish painter, he could be classified as a Netherlandish artist because Flanders was a medieval county along the coast of what is now Belgium and adjacent parts of France and Netherlands. During the beginning of the fifteenth century, Campin was one of the earliest and most well known Flemish painters. Born in 1378 and died in 1444, he became a master painter in Tournai, a commune in southwest Belgium. As the °peintre ordinaire de la ville,± or the ordinary painter of the town, Campin was sometimes identified as the Master of Fl¨¦malle. In Tournai, he became the head of a considerable workshop which never lacked commission and apprentices. C
Campin painted his masterpiece on three wooden panels and oil was the medium that he chose to use. In °The Annunciation Triptych,± the figures and objects are painted with apparent depth, rich gradations of light, and a broad distribution of color. Campin combines translucent oil pigments on aqueous opaque pigments, thereby making the surface luminous and enamel-like and giving the artwork the result of an illusionistic effect. In addition to Campin¯s profound artistic skills, he has a great eye of precise observation; thus, he is able to depict the clarity of the details in his artwork. Due to these various painting techniques and careful visions, °The Annunciation Triptych± appears to be three-dimensional and heavy. Hence, Campin is successful in reflecting reality onto a two-dimensional plane. The center panel depicts a room that is physically highest, for one sees only blue sky and clouds from the back windows of the Virgin¯s chamber. Campin is able to achieve a convincing account of a room because he has perceived the fall of light, coming through the door by which Gabriel has entered on the left and through the windows on the left and in the back wall. The gradation of light on the walls is also subtly perceived. With the furrows of shade that envelop the contours of forms, the three-dimensional effect is heightened. Not only is the use of light and dark unquestionably one of the decisive elements in the picture, but their roles stimulate the overall mood of the artwork. In addition, the phenomenon of the cast shadows expresses a mastering of reality or, more precisely, a resemblance to reality. The perspective of the central panel converges abruptly to one vanishing point centered between the Virgin and Gabriel, i.e. along the axis on which one would logically stand when contemplating the scene. Neither the Virgin nor the archangel have haloes, therefore their natural rather than supernatural character is stressed. The
Some common words found in the essay are:
Annunciation Triptych±, Triptych± Campin, , Virgin Gabriel, St Joseph, Virgin Mary, France Netherlands, Neither Virgin, Altarpiece± M¨¦rode, Fl¨¦malle Tournai, annunciation triptych±, °the annunciation, °the annunciation triptych±, center panel, virgin¯s chamber, center panel wings, panel wings, virgin gabriel, left wing, central panel, fifteenth century, blue sky clouds, gradation light,
Approximate Word count = 1312
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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