THE CHARTERHOUSE OF CHAMPMOL

Founded as a family mausoleum by Philip the Bold in 1383. the Charterhouse of Champmol near Dijon was one of the most important religions and artistic centres of the dukedom of Burgundy during the late Gothic era. Today, the site of the destroyed charterhouse is occupied by a psychiatric hospital, but some important works still survive, such as the facade of the church and the Moses' Well, which was carved by Claus Sluter during the last ten years of the 14th century.
These, together with the duke's tomb and its pleurants (weepers), now housed in the Dijon Museum, are among some of the greatest European masterpieces of late Gothic naturalism. The town museum still preserves four panels, painted tor the altarpiece of Champmol, showing the Life of the Virgin by the Flemish artist Melchior Broederlam from Ypres.

Melchior Broederlam,
Flight into Egypt,
side panel of an altarpiece,
c 1399.
Musee des Beaux-Arts,
Dijon, France.
 

Claus Sluter (1360-1406)
Well of Moses: Moses

Claus Sluter (1360-1406)
Well of Moses: Prophet King David and Jeremiah.

Claus Sluter (1360-1406)
Well of Moses: Prophets Daniel and  Isaiah. 

Claus Sluter (1360-1406)
Well of Moses

Claus Sluter

(b Haarlem, c. 1360; d Dijon, 1406).
Netherlandish sculptor, active in Burgundy. He formulated the 15th-century Burgundian style and strongly influenced northern Renaissance sculpture. The name Claes de Slutere van Herlam appears in the guild list of the Brussels stone-cutters and masons about 1379. After possibly training in a family workshop in Haarlem, his formal training probably took place after he arrived in Brussels. This would make a birth date of c. 1360 more probable than 1340, as has been suggested. The various changes in the spelling of Sluter’s name, his continued association with contemporaries in the guild list, and the influence of Brussels artists on his work, all indicate that he spent a considerable length of time there.

Claus Sluter (1360-1406)
Christ.

Claus Sluter (1360-1406)
Well of Moses: Angel

Claus Sluter (1360-1406)
Well of Moses: Angel