Why one of the best painters of the Middle Ages painted for the hospital: Hans Memling

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

A large triptych by Hans Memling, dated 1474-1479, is called the Altar of St. John. Its full name is "the altar of John the Baptist and John the Theologian." He served as an altar at St. John's Hospital in Bruges, where he remains to this day. By the way, this is not the only work of a famous artist written for a hospital. What actually connects Memling with the institution of St. John?

Memling's biography

Hans Memling was one of the most important painters of the early period of the Netherlands (he was part of the group of the so-called "Flemish primitives"). Over the course of his thirty-year career, he has brought many innovations to Dutch art. Hans Memling was born in Seligenstadt, near Frankfurt in the Middle Rhine region. It is known that Memling studied in Mainz or Cologne.

Giorgio Vasari, in his Vite (biography of artists), wrote that Memling was a student and colleague of Van der Weyden. Their collaboration presumably lasted until Van der Weyden's death on June 18, 1464. Shortly thereafter, in 1465, Memling registered as burgher of Bruges. During this period, portraits were one of the most important parts of Memling's work. A third of the artist's works that have survived to this day are precisely portraits. The popularity of these works was probably due to the personal approach he brought to the existing portrait style. By the way, the Italian clientele especially appreciated the portraits of Memling.

An excellent example is the portrait of a man from the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp, probably painted in 1473-74. A man in a black coat with a white collar and black headwear looks at the viewer. He holds a coin in his hand. In the center of the picture, at the bottom edge, Memling painted several bay leaves. A man sits in front of a wide, sprawling landscape where we observe swans, a man on a horse, and a palm tree.

Since the 1470s. Memling worked on other types of paintings as well. One of these orders was the painting of two panels of the altar, commissioned by the Librarians' Guild. Unfortunately, these panels, painted around 1479, have been lost. Also in 1479, Memling wrote his only two works that were dated and signed: the Retable of St. John and the Triptych of Jan Florain. Both altars were made for the clergy of St. John's Hospital. Suspicions have been expressed more than once that Memling had a special relationship with St. John's Hospital due to the large amount of work the hospital had ordered from him. Many researchers believe that Memling, being a valiant soldier in the army of Charles the Bold, took part in hostilities and was even wounded. It was St. John's Hospital that helped the artist to heal. In gratitude for the help, Memling wrote many papers for the institution.

Triptych of Saint John

The triptych was written for the High Altar of the Chapel of St. John's Hospital. The old inscription on the bottom of the frame includes the date 1479 and the name of the artist Hans Memling. The altar is, of course, dedicated to the patron saints of the hospital. The central image of the Virgin Mary can be associated with the long and close ties of the hospital chapel with the Virgin Mary. Two holy women, Catherine and Barbara, were especially important saints for seriously ill people. Their presence in a hospital context is often attributed to the fact that they symbolize the contemplative and active life of the hospital's monastery community.

Together with the Last Judgment in Gdańsk and The Lubeck Passion, this is one of Memling's three largest triptychs. Three altarpieces serve as important milestones in the development of his work. Altar of St. John”dates back to 1479 and is thus exactly halfway between the Gdansk (1467) and Lubeck (1491) triptychs.

Composition

The composition of the triptych as a whole is original not only from the point of view of the narrative, where the various components are interconnected spatially and thematically. The innovation also applies to the image of the Virgin Mary in heaven and the Apocalypse. The iconography of such a group of saints sitting and standing around the Virgin seated on a throne is quite rare. Memling was most likely inspired by the altarpieces of Jan van Eyck.

- The left panel depicts the death of John the Baptist (Beheading of the head), - The right panel shows John the Evangelist, depicted on the island of Patmos, - The central panel depicts Mary with the baby Jesus, surrounded by two John and saints Catherine of Alexandria and Barbara. Narrow vertical openings between the columns open up a continuous landscape of ruins and buildings in which small scenes from the lives of two saints are played out.

The triptych was ordered by four pious inhabitants of Bruges, who are depicted on the back of the wings. • Jacob de Seuninck (monk in the hospital), • Antheunis Segers (head of the hospital), • Agnes Kazembrud (abbess of the hospital) and • Clara van Hulsen, nurse. Behind them are the saints after whom they were named: Saint James the Great, Saint Anthony the Abbot, Saint Agnes and Saint Claire.

By the time of his death (August 11, 1494) Memling was a recognized artist at home and abroad. Many future artists followed his style, compositions and use of paints. The influence of Memling is noticeable - to a greater or lesser extent - in the works of Gerard David, Joos van Cleve, Quinten Matsis and Peter Pourbus. Thus, Memling played a decisive role in the development of Bruges painting.