Robert Campin - The Mérode Altarpiece left wing
Robert Campin - The Mérode Altarpiece, left panel
New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Trying to unravel the mystery of the altarpiece has intrigued scholars for years. It continues to intrigue them. The stranger standing against the brick wall was also painted in at a later date. He is part of the mystery. His clothes are more lavish, his appearance more striking than that of the donor and the lady. Scholars have speculated about his identity.
One scholar suggested this might be a self-portrait of the Master of Flemalle. Another, studying the shield he wears over his heart, thought he could be a messenger of the Merode family. It was also suggested the stranger could be the marriage broker who arranged the marriage between the donor and his wife. Marriage brokers were members of guilds who wore similar shields.
Another scholar referred to the stranger as "the man beside the gate." According to him, the shield worn was the type used by professional messengers in northern Europe before there was a regular postal service. Since so much in the altarpiece can be symbolic, it was suggested the man at the gate, a carrier of worldly messages, might be considered the earthly counterpart of the heavenly messenger, Gabriel. The horse and rider have been placed outside the gate.
During the Middle Ages the horse was considered a symbol of lust. Perhaps the artist has placed them there as a suggestion that the war within the spirit takes place in the outside world. For the gate represents the entrance to peace within the spirit. The gate is symbolic of Mary and the re-entrance into Heaven. The gate of Paradise closed by the sin of Eve is reopened through Mary. The walled garden refers to the chastity of Mary. The symbol is based on a phrase from the Song of Solomon: "My sister," my spouse is a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up." Mary, conceived without sin, is the garden enclosed. The forget-me-nots, the violets, and the daisies represent the humility of Mary. They are also spring flowers, reminders of the time of year the Annunciation took place. The red rose signifies martyrdom. It is again symbolic of Mary. According to Saint Ambrose, a 4th century bishop, the rose had no thorns when it grew in Paradise; only after the fall of man did the rose grow its thorns. Mary, born without sin, is called the "rose without thorns."
www.homeschoolonline.co.uk/art/great-works-of-art/the-mer...
Robert Campin - The Mérode Altarpiece left wing
Robert Campin - The Mérode Altarpiece, left panel
New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Trying to unravel the mystery of the altarpiece has intrigued scholars for years. It continues to intrigue them. The stranger standing against the brick wall was also painted in at a later date. He is part of the mystery. His clothes are more lavish, his appearance more striking than that of the donor and the lady. Scholars have speculated about his identity.
One scholar suggested this might be a self-portrait of the Master of Flemalle. Another, studying the shield he wears over his heart, thought he could be a messenger of the Merode family. It was also suggested the stranger could be the marriage broker who arranged the marriage between the donor and his wife. Marriage brokers were members of guilds who wore similar shields.
Another scholar referred to the stranger as "the man beside the gate." According to him, the shield worn was the type used by professional messengers in northern Europe before there was a regular postal service. Since so much in the altarpiece can be symbolic, it was suggested the man at the gate, a carrier of worldly messages, might be considered the earthly counterpart of the heavenly messenger, Gabriel. The horse and rider have been placed outside the gate.
During the Middle Ages the horse was considered a symbol of lust. Perhaps the artist has placed them there as a suggestion that the war within the spirit takes place in the outside world. For the gate represents the entrance to peace within the spirit. The gate is symbolic of Mary and the re-entrance into Heaven. The gate of Paradise closed by the sin of Eve is reopened through Mary. The walled garden refers to the chastity of Mary. The symbol is based on a phrase from the Song of Solomon: "My sister," my spouse is a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up." Mary, conceived without sin, is the garden enclosed. The forget-me-nots, the violets, and the daisies represent the humility of Mary. They are also spring flowers, reminders of the time of year the Annunciation took place. The red rose signifies martyrdom. It is again symbolic of Mary. According to Saint Ambrose, a 4th century bishop, the rose had no thorns when it grew in Paradise; only after the fall of man did the rose grow its thorns. Mary, born without sin, is called the "rose without thorns."
www.homeschoolonline.co.uk/art/great-works-of-art/the-mer...