The Seilern Triptych - The Entombment, c.1425 (paint, gold leaf on panel)

This devotional work is one of the finest masterpieces of Northern European painting. It is also an early example of oil painting. In contrast with the traditional egg-based paint (called ‘tempera’), oil paint enabled artists to depict translucent effects and precise modelling, making figures and objects more lifelike and immediate. The triptych depicts Christ’s burial, moments after he is taken down from the cross. His body is lowered into a stone tomb while four angels carry instruments associated with his suffering. The right wing depicts Christ’s triumphant Resurrection two days later. The triptych was probably commissioned by the anonymous kneeling man depicted on the left wing. The gold background is adorned with raised motifs representing an intricate vine, as wine was a symbol of the blood shed by Christ.Attributed to Robert Campin, a leading painter in Tournai (present-day Belgium), the work is often called ‘The Seilern Triptych’ after the collector who bequeathed it to the Courtauld.