Mérode Altarpiece

The workshop of Robert Campin created this triptych around 1427-1432 in Tournai. The central panel shows the Annunciation, with the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary in a comfortable Flemish interior. The left wing shows the donors kneeling in a courtyard. The right wing depicts Joseph in his carpentry workshop, making mousetraps.

Nearly every object carries symbolic meaning. The lilies represent Mary's purity. The candle, just extinguished, suggests the moment God takes human form. Joseph's mousetraps reference Augustine's idea that the Incarnation was God's way of trapping the devil. This fusion of sacred narrative with detailed domestic reality revolutionized religious painting.

Campin, also known as the Master of Flémalle, trained young Rogier van der Weyden. Technical examination suggests different hands worked on the panels, with the wings added after the central scene. The aristocratic Belgian Mérode and Arenberg families owned it until 1849. The Cloisters, the Met's medieval branch in New York, acquired it in 1956.