Marriage of the Virgin
Robert Campin·1420
Historical Context
The Marriage of the Virgin, attributed to Robert Campin and dated around 1420, is now in the Museo del Prado. The subject depicts the betrothal of the Virgin Mary to Joseph, when Joseph's staff miraculously flowered as a sign of divine selection. Campin's treatment of the subject demonstrates his pioneering realism, with solid, weighty figures and convincing architectural settings that broke decisively with the elegant linearism of the International Gothic.
Technical Analysis
Campin's robust figures display his characteristic solid volumetric modeling, with strong light-shadow contrasts and an earthly materiality in the rendering of faces and fabrics that marks a new direction in Northern painting.
