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Robert CampinRobert Campin (1378–April 26, 1444) is sometimes considered the first great master of Flemish painting. Although heavily indebted to contemporary masters of manuscript illumination, Campin displayed greater powers of realistic observation than any other painter before him. Art historians have always been eager to trace the beginnings of Northern Renaissance to one single artist. For a long time it was accepted that Jan van Eyck was the first painter to depart from conventions of Gothic art. By the end of the 19th century it became clear, however, that van Eyck was preceded by an artist who painted the Mrode Altarpiece from the Abbey of Flmalle. Dated to about 1428, the altarpiece (now in the Cloisters of the Metropolitan Museum) is permeated with loving attention to details and spirit of bourgeois materialism. A later altarpiece in a similar manner, also from Flmalle, is now exhibited in Frankfurt am Main. It was assumed that these works belong to one Master of Flmalle whose identity at that time could not be established. In the 20th century, several scholars suggested that the Master of Flmalle may be none other than 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 last named was probably the great Rogier van der Weyden. The only documented altarpiece of Daret shows striking similiarities with works of Master of Flmalle, as do early works by Rogier. Therefore it is tempting to assume that both Daret and Rogier were disciples of the Master of Flmalle, i.e. Robert Campin. Another possibility, however, is that Flmalle altarpieces were painted by Rogier himself when he was still in his twenties. Several works attributed to Robert Campin may be seen in the Hermitage, Prado, and the National Gallery (London). See also The Mrode altarpiece. The left and central panels of the triptych by Master of Flmalle. External link Campin, Robert Campin, Robert
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