Triptych with Adoration of the Magi, 1479
Hans Memling
Museum Sint-Janshospitaal,
Musea Brugge (Belgium)
O.SJ0173.I
The inscription on the frame reveals that this work was commissioned by hospital friar Jan Floreins: DIT WERCK DEDE MAECKEN BROEDER IAN FLOREINS / ALIAS VANDER RIIST BROEDER PROFES VANDE HOSPITALE VAN SINT JANS IN BRUGGHE ANNO MCCCLXXIX /OPUS IIOHANIS MEMLING. Friar Floreins can also be seen on the central panel, kneeling with a prayer book in his hands. The work depicts the Adoration of the Magi in a stable. We see Joseph, Mary with Child on her lap, the three kings and several outsiders looking on curiously. On the left wing, we see the Birth of Jesus. Joseph is holding a candle and Mary is kneeling before the Child Jesus, who is greeted by two angels. A donkey and an ox stand between Joseph and Mary. On the right wing, The Assignment in the Temple is portrayed, with Joseph holding a basket of doves, Mary with the Child Jesus, the priest Simeon and the prophetess Anna. On the exterior panels are two saints: Saint John the Baptist with the lamb on the left and Saint Veronica with the cloth showing the image of Christ on the right.
Curious about the different layers in Memling's works?
Technical examination is used to study Hans Memling’s paintings. This is a method within art history that applies the latest scientific techniques to examine the various layers that make up a painting. KIK-IRPA used four modes of macro photography and infrared reflectography to research and document Hans Memling’s paintings.
DETAILS
| Title | Triptych with Adoration of the Magi |
| Location | Museum Sint-Janshospitaal, Musea Brugge, Bruges (Belgium) |
| Category | Paintings |
| Subject | Religious |
| Inventory number | O.SJ0173.I |
| Inscriptions | Left wing: DIT WERCK DEDE MAECKEN BROEDER IAN FLOREINS |
| Central panel: ALIAS VANDER RIIST BROEDER PROFES VANDE HOSPITALE VAN SINT JANS IN BRUGGHE ANNO MCCCLXXIX | |
| Right wing: OPUS IIOHANIS MEMLING | |
| Closed: Monogram J-F | |
| 2 coats of arms |
| Creator | Hans Memling |
| Date | 1479 |
| Materials | Oil paint, oak |
| Technique | Oil paint on panel |
| Dimensions | Left wing, with (original) frame: height 56.7 x width 33.5 cm |
| Left wing, painted surface: height 48.1 x width 24.9 cm | |
| Central panel, with cornice: height 78.0 x width 80.3 cm | |
| Central panel, with (original) frame: height 56.7 x width 67.0 cm | |
| Central panel, painted surface: height 46.5 x width 57.4 cm | |
| Right wing, with (original) frame: height 56.7 x width 33.7 cm | |
| Right wing, painted surface: height 48.1 x width 24.9 cm |
| Permalink | |
| IIIF manifest | https://dam.museabrugge.be/memling/manifests/manifest-11.json |
| Copyright | Images of artworks that are not subject to copyright restrictions are published for this purpose under the Creative Commons Zero license. These may be freely used. |
The images were taken by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA, Brussels) on behalf of Musea Brugge.
The stitching of the images is thanks to VUB spinoff Universum Digitalis BV.