Like many fifteenth-century Flemish artists, Robert Campin remains a somewhat obscure figure. On the one hand there is considerable evidence for the existence of the painter Robert Campin, and on the other, we have a comparatively consistent body of works that have been quite reasonably attributed to a variety of artists. These painters were all working at the start of the 15th century, a turning-point in art history in that, especially in Flanders, painting was moving on from what is called the 'International Gothic' style to a more realistic and less formal depiction of the life of men and the world they lived in. This development in Flemish painting was to play an important role in the rise of a specifically French style in the 15th century, since it acted as a counterbalance to the influence of Italian painting, which tended to be more decorative. We know that a Robert Campin lived in Tournai, was a Master there in 1406 and a burgher in 1410. His life seems to have been a rather troubled one. Most importantly, however, we know that among his pupils were Rogier van der Weyden, probably in 1426, and Jacques Daret in 1427. Some sources state that he drew the cartoons for a Life of Saint Peter that Henri de Beaumehel painted. Along with the date of his death, that is all we know of him. In connection with the works now attributed to him we have to go back to the start of what was, and still is, one of the great debates of art history, which has, of course, no shortage of disputes about attribution. At the end of the 19th century it was customary to exclude from the work of Rogier van der Weyden the Mérode Triptych, so-called because it had long been in the possession of the princes of Mérode before going to the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and which was sometimes attributed to the 'Master of the Mérode Altar'. Also excluded were some other panels painted over a period of about 20 years with characteristics that distinguish them from the rest of Rogier van der Weyden's output. These works could have been inspired by earlier works of Broederlam that are now lost. Some seem to show the influence of Van Eyck, though it is more probable that Van Eyck was himself influenced by what was new in these painters. This group of paintings was attributed to a Master of Flémalle, named after an abbey that never existed, and for whom the name Master of Mérode is more suitable. Attempts were made to identify the Master of Mérode with Nabur Martins, Witz, Daret, and then, in 1909, with Campin. In 1928 the question blew up into a case of traditional Belgian rivalry between Flemings and Walloons, though it then concerned only the attribution of this group of paintings either to Robert Campin or to the young Rogier van der Weyden. Works attributed to Campin and dated between 1420 and 1430 include the Marriage of the Virgin, with reverse in grisaille of St James the Great and St Claire (Prado); the Nativity (Dijon), a painting still Gothic in its elegance and lacking perspective, but characterised by the appearance, although somewhat timid, of a rural landscape taken from life, with a number of precise and picturesque details painted in a dawn light, and showing a degree of observation that marks an important date in the expressive aims of this period; the Annunciation, known as the Mérode Altarpiece, Campin's most important work, in which familiar details take on an exceptional importance, especially in the wing where the carpenter Joseph is busy with his tools making mousetraps, standing in front of a window that overlooks an entirely Flemish town, even if this is less complete than those we find later in Van Eyck; and a Madonna (Hermitage). Dated between 1430 and 1435 are Virgin in Glory (Aix); The Trinity; two panels depicting Madonna and Saint Veronica, and a Crucified Thief (Frankfurt), in which the figures have a sculptural presence that indicates the important influence of Claus Sluter from the court of the dukes of Burgundy and the idea of realism associated with him; the portrait of a Young Woman (London). Dated between 1435 and 1440 are Crucifixion (Berlin) and St Barbara, St John the Baptist and a Donor (Prado).

In all these works the drawing is sharp, the contours are clear, the colours are bright and the light cheerful. The artist who painted them achieves effects of pathos, and, in his portraits, a truthfulness to everyday life and the character of his sitters. In a Socratic movement of the spirit, his painting descends from heaven and concerns itself with human life; which describes quite well the movement from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. The influence of these works can be seen not only in the works of artists from the same region, such as Rogier van der Weyden, but also, even more interestingly, in altarpieces by the Master of the Aix Annunciation.