Hans Melming

Description

Unlike his predecessor Van Eyck, Memling, considered a minor artist for a long time, was not a painter of the court, but of the bourgeoisie. Forgotten during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Memling is nowadays regarded as one of the greatest painters of the United Provinces of the fifteenth century, thanks to the perfect balance between realism and idealisation that permeates his portraits. His compositions, most often diptychs and triptychs for altarpieces, show a talent comparable to that of Van Eyck.His taste for detail and precision in drawing, his mastery of technique, and his sense of composition produced such magnificent works as "The Last Judgment" (1466-1473), "The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine" (1479) and "Seven Joys of the Virgin" (1480). Through its rich collection of reproductions of Memling's major paintings, which highlight the fine faces and modest poses prescribed by the artistic canons of the time, this work examines the complex talent of this major artist.

Alfred Michiels was an art and literary critic as well as a journalist and art historian. He contributed to numerous journals such as Le Temps, La Reforme, Le Siecle, the National, the Revue independante, the Revue de Paris and the Revue britannique. He also published novels, short stories, dramas, travel books and scholarly works of literature, such as the poetry of Philippe Desportes and the complete works of Regnard, as well as a theory of comedy and various theatrical arrangements. He specialised in German and Flemish painting, and wrote a History of Flemish Painting, which to this day is one of the most important books written on the subject.This volume is an eloquent and superb presentation and analysis of the art of Hans Memling, in the historical and sociocultural context of the fifteenth century. His work on this Master will charm the public with its wonderful narration and breathtaking analysis.