MASTER of Flémalle
(b. ca. 1375, Valenciennes, d. 1444, Tournai)

Virgin and Child

c. 1410
Oil on wood, 160 x 68 cm
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

This panel is one of three paintings in Frankfurt which derive from a dismantled retable whose original appearance is not known. Probably the retable had double wings on each side. The interior could have been painted. The three panels are also the representative work of the artist from Tournai known as the Master of Flémalle, identified as Robert Campin.

This side panel represents the standing figure of Virgin Mary who suckles the infant Christ, while the other St Veronica who holds the cloth marked with the face of Christ. In the background of the side panels the artist uses a background of brocade hangings to produce a space without depth. The third panel, probably from the reverse side of the retable, represents the Holy Trinity in grisaille: God the Father supports the dead Christ and shows the body to the whole community; the Holy Spirit is present in the form of a dove.




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