Hans Memling
Born – Seligenstadt, Germany c.1433
Died – Bruges 1494
Hans Memling was a pupil of Rogier van der Weyden. He entered the painter’s guild in Bruges, the great centre of the medieval corporations, in 1467. Some measure of his success can be gleaned from the fact that by 1480 he was one of the largest taxpayers in the city. He produced calm and devotional pictures full of gentle piety, characterized by their rich texture and string hues. His paintings combined elements of work by both van der Weyden and Hugo van der Goes, and they were well liked by the rich middle class of the time. A strong Italian influence is evinced in The Mystic Marriage of St Catherine through the use of use of landscape as a backdrop to the central scene. This serves to unify the different parts of the painting, and emphasizes the contrasting formal presence of the classical columns. St Catherine of Alexandra is thought to have lived in the fourth century. The infant Christ turns toward her and places a ring on her finger, while St John the Baptist on the left, and St John the Evangelist on the right, look on.
Masterpieces:
- Diptych of Martin Van Nieuwenhove
- The Donne Triptych
Text: The A-Z of Art, Nicola Hodge and Libby Anson.
Books About hans memling
Hans Memling (Temporis Collection)
Franz Bock; Parkstone Press
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Hans Memling (Temporis Series)
Albert Michiels
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Hans Memling, Master Painter in Fifteenth-Century Bruges (Studies in Medieval and Early Renaissance Art History)
Barbara Lane
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