Hans Memling

Hans Memling’s paintings bring detailed oil technique and carefully ordered figures to the religious and mercantile world of fifteenth-century Bruges. His portraits give faces a composed presence, often using a plain setting or landscape to frame the sitter. The portraits of Tommaso and Maria Portinari connect individual likeness with the devotional format of paired images. In the Triptych of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, the central sacred gathering is extended through related narrative scenes.