A Man
- Artist: Robert Campin
- Date: about 1435
- Medium: oil on wood
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is "A Man" painted in the early Netherlandish style by Robert Campin, a master of portraiture. The sitter's clothes and features convey his character: he seems world-weary, uncertain, and disillusioned. His face is dimly lit, with skin that sags beneath his jaw and forms crow's feet around his dull eyes. He slouches, and his head is off centre.
Note how Campin has arranged the sitter's clothes to create a sense of weight and gravity. The shadows cast on his face stress the falling lines of the pattern created by the artist. His hands are not included, perhaps because they would have been at odds with this intricate design.
The painting dates back to around 1435 and is executed in oil on wood. Campin's use of pattern to increase emotional effect is a hallmark of his style, as seen in other works thought to be by him. The clothes worn by the sitter are characteristic of the fashion of about 1430, suggesting that the painting captures a moment in time from the early 15th century.
See it in person
A Man hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
