Virgin and Child

Description

This panel and a portrait of a man in prayer 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.

Provenance

Probably a Spanish convent [according to invoice from Steinmeyer, Paris, June 23, 1913 in curatorial file]. Private collection, Spain, by 1892 [according to Hymans 1894, p. 159, it was lent to the 1892–93 Madrid exhibition by a private owner]. Steinmeyer & Fils, Paris, 1913; sold to Martin A. Ryerson (d. 1932), Chicago, June 23, 1913 [invoice cited above]; on loan to the Art Institute by 1915; bequeathed to the Art Institute, 1933.

Virgin and Child

Hans Memling

c. 1485

Accession Number

16295

Medium

Oil on panel

Dimensions

Framed: 41.1 × 33.4 cm (16 3/16 × 13 1/8 in.)

Classification

oil on panel

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection