CODART Canon

The Flémalle Panels

Master of Flémalle, ca. 1428 — 1430
Städel Museum, Frankfurt

The Flémalle panels immediately won their place in the canon of the Early Netherlandish art upon their rediscovery in the nineteenth century, despite the fact that not much was known about their origins. The panels, now believed by a majority of the experts as originating from the workshop of Robert Campin of Tournai, are considered one of the key works marking the split from the International Gothic Style and the beginning of the Early Netherlandish school of painting. The panels superbly display the qualities that characterize this school of painting, including the three-dimensionality of the figures, illusionistically rendered materials, naturalism in depicting plants, and the individualized faces of the saints, which evoke emotions and empathy. The paintings also demonstrate technical brilliance, allowing us to enjoy minutely executed details, as if viewed under a microscope, yet the overall effect of the panels show solid monumentality and impress us with their dramatic quality.

— Greta Koppel, Curator of Dutch and Flemish Paintings, Kadrioru Kunstimuuseum, Eesti Kunstimuuseum, Tallinn