The Merode Altarpiece, painted in 1425, is a small, portable work intended for personal devotions. The work is a triptych, meaning it has three panels that are hinged so that the side paintings can be folded in. When the Merode Altarpiece is displayed unfolded, the work is 2 feet high and four feet wide.
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The Merode Altarpiece remains one of Campin's best-known religious paintings, and is ranked amongst the greatest Renaissance paintings of Northern Europe. Netherlandish painting in the early 15th century represented a radical break from the courtly International Gothic style, and introduced a far more realist approach.
What is significant about the Mérode Altarpiece? It reflects the emerging merchant class and new wealth.
TriptychThe Mérode Altarpiece (or Annunciation Triptych) is an oil on oak panel triptych, now in The Cloisters, in New York City. It is unsigned and undated, but attributed to Early Netherlandish painter Robert Campin and an assistant.
This work is a triptych (three-panel painting) depicting the Annunciation, Saint Joseph, and two donors. The Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary to tell her she has been chosen by God to be the mother of His child, was a common theme in medieval and Renaissance art.
The Merode altarpiece is similar to the Ghent altarpiece in that there is an overabundance of disguised symbolism. Every little detail in each of the altarpieces is cleverly symbolic of Christian beliefs.
Why is the structure known as the Lion Gate referred to as "cyclopean masonry?" The Lion Gate was built with huge blocks of rough-hewn stone that only giants known as Cyclopes could have carried. Which ancient Greek city-state was the home to the Sanctuary of Apollo?
PaintingMérode Altarpiece / FormPainting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface. The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and airbrushes, can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. Wikipedia
Which of these features was common among artworks produced in the International Gothic style? It tended to be portable.
The subject of Robert Campin's Merode Altarpiece is the moment when an angel appears to Mary to tell her that she has been chosen to bear the Son of God. A painting depicting the same event is Titian's painting discussed in this chapter.
Triptych Has Greek Roots A painted or carved triptych typically has three hinged panels, and the two outer panels can be folded in towards the central one. A literary or musical triptych generally consists of three closely related or contrasting themes or parts.
The painting contains many religious symbols, including the lily symbolizing the purity of Mary. The Holy Spirit is represented by the rays of light and a small white figure with a cross, coming from the left-hand window in the central panel.
In Flemish painting, the color blue had two symbolic meanings. If the subject matter was a religious image, the color blue symbolized Christ's royal heritage. In these paintings, regardless of the image, the use of blue was a symbol of the central tenet of faith, that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
CardsTerm The intersection of the secular and the religious can be seen in the Flemish painting ________by Jan van Eyck.Definition Giovanni Arnolfini and His BrideTerm When the Ghent Altarpiece is opened, it reveals an image of ________.Definition humanity's Redemption158 more rows•Mar 1, 2014
Subject Matter: The Mérode Altarpiece in Three Panels. It is believed the central panel of the Mérode triptych was painted first and the outer wings were added at a later stage, possibly when the donor commissioned it, which explains why the left panel depicts the donor and his wife.
a set of three panels or compartments side by side, bearing pictures, carvings, or the like. contour line.
The altarpiece was commissioned for the hospital chapel of Saint Anthony's Monastery in Isenheim, Alsace (then part of Germany), where monks ministered to victims afflicted with the disfiguring skin disease known as Saint Anthony's Fire. Monks, hospital staff, and patients at St.
The Mérode Altarpiece (c. 1425) has been attributed to the Flemish painter Robert Campin, also known as the Master of Flémalle, and his Tournai wor...
The Mérode Altarpiece (c. 1425) is a triptych depicting the Annunciation scene from the Bible. The left panel depicts the donors who seemingly peer...
The Mérode Altarpiece is housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s The Cloisters Museum in New York City.
Robert Campin, also known as the Master of Flémalle, was considered one of the pioneering painters from the Early Netherlandish era during the Nort...
The Mérode Altarpiece by Robert Campin was undated and unsigned with extensive scholarly research undertaken to ascertain who the true creator was...
The Merode Altarpiece,by Robert Campin, is an annunciation triptych full of symbolic meaning, that was intended to lead the faithful into deep contemplation of the mysteries of Christ, who left heaven to become a man. In this post, we will be exploring the backstory and context of the work.
The Mérode Altarpiece, also called The Annunciation Triptych, oil on wood panel, by Robert Campin, c. 1425; at the Cloisters, New York City.
By contrast, the Merode Altarpiece is an oil painting on a wood panel. Wooden panels while not unheard of in Italy, were far more common in the Northern areas of Europe.
If a person purchased an altarpiece for a public building their generous gift would ensure that they would have prayers for their souls in perpetuity. Sometimes the donors were groups of people, perhaps a guild or confraternity. Donors were often painted much smaller than the Biblical figures, and would be kneeling.
During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance these portraits, sometimes called votive portraits, were often on side panels as if the figures are present, watching the sacred stories unfold.
The Northern Renaissance developed independently, in ways that differed from the Renaissance in Italy. In Italy the combination of religion, humanism , and classicism was key. This meant ancient architectural details and an emphasis on linear perspective ( discussed here) and aerial perspective ( discussed here ), were emphasized. In classical art the artists tried to ‘trick the eye’ to fool the viewer that they were looking at the real thing. They also valued mythical and Biblical figures, not everyday events or people.
Northern painting is especially noted for its use of light and color, which was largely possible by the adoption of oils. I am drawn to the work of these Northern artists because I prefer the clear, intense colors and crisp light. Once you become familiar with several Northern painters, they are easy to identify. There is a distinctive feel that is hard to define with words.