Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of a Donor (recto); Saint Anthony of Padua (verso)

Hans Memling (Netherlandish, c. 1430–1494)

Date

c. 1485

Medium

Oil on panel

Culture

Netherlands

Department

Painting and Sculpture of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This panel and Virgin and Child once hinged together to form a diptych, with the Virgin and Child on the left and the portrait of a man facing her on the right. The condition of the portrait is very poor, while its reverse—featuring an image of Saint Anthony of Padua—is well preserved. It is painted in grisaille , a technique that mimics sculpture through monochromatic shades of beige and gray. This outer panel would have been visible when the diptych was closed and served as a transition point between the earthly setting outside the diptych into the sacred space within, painted in colorful, lavish detail. Visual cues like Anthony’s sandaled toe stepping on the edge of the frame and the reflection of two children—perhaps the donor’s—in the convex mirror behind the Virgin reinforce the paintings’ role as an intermediary meeting point reached through prayer.

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