The Virgin and Child by a Fireplace (Right Wing of a Diptych)

Robert Campin's Virgin and Child by a Fireplace, painted around 1433 as the right wing of a diptych in the Hermitage, is a supreme example of the domestic Madonna in early Netherlandish art. The intimate format places the holy figures in a recognizable bourgeois interior warmed by a real fire, an innovation that brought devotional art into the viewer's everyday world. Robert Campin, now generally identified with the so-called Master of Flémalle, was one of the founders of the Flemish painting tradition alongside Jan van Eyck.

The firescreen behind the Virgin's head functions as a secular halo while the carefully rendered fireplace, bench, and window demonstrate Campin's mastery of domestic interior painting using luminous oil glazes.