Hans Memling

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Self-portrait on the Donne Altar in the National Gallery, London

Hans Memling (* between 1433 and 1440 in Seligenstadt ; † August 11, 1494 in Bruges ; also Jan van Mimmelynghe , Johannes Memmelinc or Memlinc , incorrectly Hemling ) was a German painter of the Dutch school.

Life

Still life with flowers, around 1485, Madrid, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

His mother was probably Lucia Stirn , her first marriage to a wealthy citizen of Seligenstadt. His father is Hamann Momilingen . The father or both parents died in 1450 or 1451, probably as a result of a plague epidemic at the time . Exact information is missing about the parents' milieu, including with regard to Memling's exact date of birth, so that his early life is largely in the dark. He is first mentioned in a document in Bruges in 1465 when he acquired citizenship . In 1466 he rented a large stone house there in the Sint-Jorisstraat , which he probably bought in 1480. Later two adjoining houses with transverse structures are mentioned, which Memling may have lived in since the beginning of his time in Bruges. Mainly painters and miniaturists lived in that quarter, including the book illustrator Willem Vrelant . Memling would have been committed to the free championship to acquire, but settled for unknown reasons at the Bruges guild register and later worked in his workshop also assistants and apprentices. In 1480 a Hannekin Verhannemann is named as an apprentice , who later did not appear. Four years later, a Passchier vander Mesch turned up as an apprentice, who was just as insignificant. At the same time, Michel Sittow's apprenticeship in Bruges is documented, who, due to stylistic similarities, can be considered another apprentice to Memling. In 1487 Memling's wife Anna de Valkenaere died , who gave him three children: Jean, Nielkin and Nicolas. One year after Memling's death in 1494, the children were still minors (under 25 years of age) and remained on the property in the Sint-Jorisstraat until 1509 . He is buried in the churchyard of St. Aegidius in Bruges.

Monument to Hans Memling at the Kunsthalle Hamburg
Bust of the painter in the Walhalla , sculptor Franz Woltreck (1841) with the misspelled surname Hemling

Memling's memory was initially kept in his place of birth, Seligenstadt, where masses were still read for him in the early 16th century. After that it was forgotten for the time being. As his main work, paintings in the St. John's Hospital in Bruges have been preserved, so that when he was rediscovered, a maudlin legend was spun about the painter who is said to have created the paintings in the St. John's Hospital after a miraculous healing. This legend lasted for a long time and was later translated into images by other painters. At times he was misinterpreted as Hemeling before recent research disproved the hospital legend and the wrong name. As Hemling his bust in the Walhalla called in Regensburg; the memorial on the facade of the Hamburger Kunsthalle bears the name Memling . In 2002 the asteroid (9562) Memling was named after him.

style

Three Kings Altar, around 1470, Madrid , Museo del Prado

From his works it is clear that he was formed under or after Rogier van der Weyden . However, he softened its severity and gave his figures less elongated forms. Despite some angularities and thinness, they show graceful movement, and their delicate soul expression , their deep and true feelings captivate the beholder with great power. The naive amiability of his storytelling, his perfect mastery of color and modeling , his delicate care in handling are unique in his time, which is why the Italians particularly preferred him. In addition to the creation of religious works, Memling is also an important innovator of profane portraiture . More than a third of the extensive work he has survived consists of portraits of this genre. The art historian Dirk de Vos concludes from a comparison of groups of works by various contemporary artists that Memling - based on the art of Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden - created the basis for the Renaissance portrait in the Netherlands . A flower still life from Memling, kept in the Städel in Frankfurt am Main , is considered the earliest of its kind.

Works

Diptichon by Jan du Cellier, Louvre in Paris
Ursula Shrine in Bruges
  • In the Louvre in Paris one of his most famous painting hangs: The portrait of an old lady with hood (1470/75). It is part of a double portrait, the counterpart of which is kept in Berlin and together result in the "portrait of an old married couple".
  • The Last Judgment , 1467–1471, National Museum (Gdansk)

The main works of the artist are in the Johannishospital (Hôpital Saint-Jean or Sint-Janshospitaal) in Bruges :

Hans Memling 002.jpg Hans Memling 007.jpg Hans Memling 003.jpg Middle part Hans Memling 008.jpg Hans Memling 006.jpg Hans Memling 005.jpg The five-winged Memling altar in Lübeck

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Minor Planet Circ. 47165
  2. Sam Segal: Flowers and nature, Netherlandish flower painting of four centurier. 's-Gravenhage 1990, p. 19.
  3. ^ Ina Conzen: Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, the collection: Masterpieces from the 14th to the 21st century , Hirmer, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-7774-7065-8 .

Web links

Commons : Hans Memling  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files