The Theme of the Mérode Altarpiece
1969; College Art Association; Volume: 51; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00043079.1969.10789238
ISSN1559-6478
Autores Tópico(s)Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis
ResumoAt the feet of the aged St. Joseph in the foreground of the right wing of Robert Campin's Mérode Altarpiece is a detailed still life showing carpenter's tools, a tiny footstool, and a chipped, peeling log of split firewood (Fig. 1).1 Dominant in this array are an ax, a saw, and a wooden rod, variously resting on the stool and the log. While they are perfectly applicable to a carpentry shop, all the components of this still life have a vital symbolic function in the panel—in the whole triptych for that matter. The ax, the saw, and the rod literally illustrate a significant passage in the book of Isaiah (10: 15): "Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood."
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