Hans Memling

Hans Memling main paintings

Hans Memling was a German painter who belonged to the Flemish school of painting. He was born around 1430 in Seligenstadt, Germany and died on August 11, 1494 in Bruges, Belgium. Not much is known about his life, but it is believed that he trained in a workshop in the Rhine area or Cologne. He was documented to be in Brussels in 1465 and in Bruges in 1466. In 1467, he joined the painters' guild in Bruges.

Memling was a popular painter, amassing a considerable fortune through his art and becoming registered as a burgher. He received commissions from other countries such as England and Spain. In fact, he was one of the favorite painters of Queen Isabella I of Castile. Along with Gerard David, he belongs to the group of painters who collected the Flemish tradition and reiterated the previous forms. His style is soft and delicate, with beautiful figures and magnificent colors. He brings a Germanic, sensual conception of human beauty and the outstanding landscape backgrounds of his paintings. He is usually a painter of Virgins with the Child, surrounded by musical angels. Normally they are diptychs and triptychs in which the Virgin is on one board and, on the other, the donors. However, over the centuries, the boards have ended up separated in many cases.

Some of his notable works include:

- **The Last Judgment**: It is preserved in the National Museum in Gdansk, Poland.

- **The Adoration of the Magi Triptych**: It is preserved in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain.