Portrait of a Woman

Flemish artist Robert Campin painted this portrait around 1435, showing a woman in the crisp white headdress fashionable among prosperous Flemish townswomen. The panel forms a pair with a portrait of a man, the couple's costume suggesting they were well-to-do residents of Tournai where Campin lived and worked.

The woman appears younger than her husband in the companion piece, her expression more forceful and optimistic. Campin placed her near eye at the panel's center, giving her a commanding presence. Her smooth skin and bright, wide-open eyes curve upward at the corners, a movement amplified by the crisp folds of her headdress.

The oil with egg tempera on oak measures 40.7 x 28.1 cm and hangs at the National Gallery in London, acquired in 1860. Campin, also known as the Master of Flémalle, is considered one of the founders of Early Netherlandish painting alongside Jan van Eyck. His ability to render textures of skin, fur, and fabric with astonishing clarity influenced generations of Northern artists, including his pupil Rogier van der Weyden.