Kampen Robert - Madonna and Child by the Fireplace

Robert Kampen, one of the founders of the art of the Northern Renaissance, was among those masters who laid the foundations for a new, freer approach to mapping the world and man, to the interpretation of religious images.
The true appearance of the artist came to light only in the twentieth century as a result of the research work of several generations of scientists. By the beginning of this century, a number of interesting and original paintings of the second quarter of the 15th century, performed in the Netherlands, became known. These were altar compositions (or fragments thereof) on evangelical themes, as well as portraits. Their authorship, however, could not have been convincingly attributed to any of the well-known painters by that time. The creator of these paintings was provisionally named Flemal master (according to the alleged origin of several works from the abbey Flemal near Liège).
At the same time, many ancient documents of the first half of the 15th century contained frequent enough references to the prominent artist Robert Kampen, though without specifying his works. It was hypothesized that it was he who owned most of these anonymous works. Further searches and painstaking stylistic analysis led to the fact that now this hypothesis is accepted by most contemporary art critics.
Studying the art of Kampen continues until our time. In recent years, thanks to new research technologies in the field of painting, in the body of works attributed to the artist, there have been some changes. So, previously regarded as unconditional works by Kampen, the paintings "Madonna and Child" by the fireplace from the National Gallery of London and the "Altar Merode" of the New York Metropolitan Museum are now attributed to works performed by the followers of the master.
In the central part of the altar there is a scene of the Annunciation taking place in the burgher living room. On the right panel, the viewer sees the next room in which the husband of Mary, the carpenter Joseph, works; on the left - the courtyard of the house and in it the kneeling figures of the customers of the altar, natives of the merchant family Ingelbrechts. The Virgin Mary and the archangel Gabriel are not distinguished in any way among the actors: the heavenly messenger, to whom, of course, any walls and locks are not an obstacle, enters the room through the door; the wife Ingelbrechts and the working Joseph appear as solemnly serious as the praying Mary. At the same time, the unequal character of the characters is underlined very subtly, and this is done by composition-spatial means. The room of Mary as the place of the performance of the sacrament is separated from the neighboring rooms, and from the entire earthly world. Through the open shutters can be seen only the sky with white clouds. The oblique flow of light pours into the round window; his rays carry with him a tiny figure of the Child with a cross - so the artist tries to tell about the coming coming of the Savior to the world.
The interior, admired by Kampen, admires the transparency of the windows, the cleanliness of the floor tiles and whitewashed walls, the reliability of the doors, the shutters and the rafters of the ceiling, the careful foresight with which the bench is pushed back to a voluminous, generous fireplace, and the washstand is placed in the corner of the room. Most of these household items carry a hidden meaning, for contemporaries of Kampen was not a secret. Thus, the light passing through a pure glass represents the immaculate conception; the hearth whose flame reminds of ancient sacrifices - the Old Testament Church, and the washstand - the Church of the New Testament, since water is a symbol of Baptism. The candle reminds of the mission of Christ - to bring light to the world. The book is about God's wisdom, the white lily is about purity (this is directly related to the virtues of the Virgin Mary). The Mother of God prays, turning to the right, to the hearth (which embodies the Old Testament), but she is already looking in the opposite direction, where she is met by the blessing of the angel and the stream of heavenly light and where there is a water-filled washstand (personifying the New Testament). For people familiar with this symbolism, the composition of the altar of Merode, acquired a very special sound.
The name Kampen is found in documents dating back to 1406. In 1410 he received the citizenship rights in the large Flemish town of Turn and became a city painter there. Sources show that the artist owned a large workshop with many students, among whom was the well-known Rogier van der Weyden. In 1423, Kampen took part in a speech by the townspeople against the ruling patrician, after becoming a member of the new city government. Soon, however, the patricians returned to power, and the artist was persecuted.
The earliest of the works attributed to Kampen give out, on the one hand, their connection with the traditions of medieval art, on the other - they reveal the artist's attempts to introduce a new interpretation of the canonical ecclesiastical subjects. Unfortunately, from the majority of the early works, which were significant altar compositions, only fragments have reached us. However, they also allow us to judge the characteristic properties of the artist's work.