PUBLIUS LENTULUS [ACTOR]:
“Christ had a reverend countenance which they that look upon may love and fear; hair of the hue of an unripe hazelnut waving over his shoulders; a parting in the middle of the head; a brow smooth and very calm, with a face without wrinkle or any blemish; a full beard not long, but a little forked at the chin.”
FEMALE NARRATOR:
The unknown writer who penned those words might well have been describing The Blessing Christ by the Flemish artist Hans Memling, painted in the late 15th century. Memling probably followed such descriptions, believed to stem from antiquity.
Memling was a master of portraiture. The faces he painted glow with life and subtly suggest the sitter’s character. He was equally famous for his devotional paintings, designed to promote private worship and prayer.
Here, Christ confronts us in dramatic close-up. His frontal pose and focused gaze confer a majesty befitting his divinity, and a nimbus surrounds his head in tiny rays of golden light. Yet, he is also seen in very human terms. He is shown against a plain dark background, his figure filling the frame like a real portrait. Notice how minutely Memling has rendered Christ’s soft beard the highlights in his curls or the delicate creases on his fingers and neck. He raises one hand in a gentle gesture of blessing. The other rests on the edge of the frame, as if he were standing behind a window or parapet, looking out at us.
By blending the formality of a religious icon with the realism of a late 15th-century portrait, Memling has created both a loving meditation on the physiognomy of Christ, and a celebration of his divine role as Redeemer.
Christ Giving His Blessing
1478
Hans Memling (South Netherlandish, c.1430/40-1494)
On View
Hans Memling was the leading painter in Bruges during the last quarter of the fifteenth century. His Christ Giving His Blessing recalls an iconographic type found in early Christian and Byzantine sacred icons, but echoes the later compositional types of Rogier van der Weyden, in whose workshop Memling presumably worked before settling in Bruges. Unlike the work of his predecessors, however, Memling's portrait of Christ is neither severe nor characterized by tragic pathos. In form and feeling, it presages Italian portraiture from the following decade: the search for clarity and order, the monumental effect achieved by filling the frame with Christ's head and shoulders, and the close-up view of the delicately modeled face against a neutral background. The gentle spirit and grace of the Redeemer, presented in fully human terms in this compelling devotional image, marks Memling’s debt to Rogier, but also his status as someone who transformed religious and portrait imagery throughout Europe from that point forward.
Details
- Artist Name: Hans Memling (South Netherlandish, c.1430/40-1494)
- Title: Christ Giving His Blessing
- Date: 1478
- Culture: South Netherlandish
- Medium: Oil on oak panel
- Dimensions: comp: 14 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (36.5 x 26.7 cm); panel: 15 1/8 x 11 1/4 in. (38.4 x 28.6 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation, Gift of Mr. Norton Simon
- Accession Number: M.1974.17.P
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation
Object Information
Don Manuel I, King of Portugal, Palacio das Necessidades, Lisbon, sold 1910 to;
[Duveen Brothers, London and New York, sold 1927 to];
Dr. and Mrs. A. Hamilton Rice, New York, sold 1957 to;
[M. Knoedler & Co., New York, jointly owned with Pinakos, Ltd., New York, stock no. A6680, as The Blessing Christ; sold 5 April 1964 to;
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
[Duveen Brothers, London and New York, sold 1927 to];
Dr. and Mrs. A. Hamilton Rice, New York, sold 1957 to;
[M. Knoedler & Co., New York, jointly owned with Pinakos, Ltd., New York, stock no. A6680, as The Blessing Christ; sold 5 April 1964 to;
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
Exhibition of Flemish and Belgian Art, 1300-1900
- London, Royal Academy, 1927-01-08 to 1927-03
Masterpieces of Art
- New York World’s Fair (1939-1940 : New York, N.Y.), 1939-05 to 1939-10
Flemish Primitives. Exhibition Organized by the Belgian Government Through the Belgian Information Center, New York
- New York, M. Knoedler and Co., 1942-04-13 to 1942-05-09
Le Siècle des Primitifs Flamands
- Groeningemuseum, 1960-06 to 1960-09
Flanders in the 15th Century: Art and Civilization
- Detroit Institute of Arts, 1960-10 to 1960-12
Hans Memling: Five Centuries of Fact and Fiction
- Groeningemuseum, to
Loan Exhibition of Flemish Primitives
- F. Kleinberger Galleries (New York, N.Y.), to
Campbell, Lorne, The Burlington Magazine, p. 265
Anonymous, Art News, p. 4
Anonymous, Art News, p. 5
Friedländer, Max J., Der Cicerone, p. 211-212
Vaughan, Malcolm, International Studio, p. 40
Van Miegroet, Max, Gerard David, n. 97, fig. 116 pp. 133, 141
Padovani, S., et al., L'Età di Savonarola: Fra' Bartolomeo e la scuola di San Marco, p. 171
Vollmer, Hans, Allegemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler, p. 375
The Logia of Yeshua,
Winkler, Friedrich, Kunstchronik, p. 314
Longhi, Roberto, L'Arte, p. 212
Vaughn, M., The Connoisseur, p. 295
Friedlander, M., Early Netherlandish Painting, no. 39 p. 51
Lambotte, Paul, et al., Exhibition of Flemish and Belgian Art, 1300-1900, no. 62 p. 31
Catalogue. The Loan Exhibition of Flemish & Belgian Art, Burlington House London 1927: A Memorial Volume, no. 62, pl. XXXIV p. 31
Alexandre, Arsène, La Renaissance de l'Art français et les industries de luxe, pp. 62-64
Friedländer, Max J., Die Altniederlandische Malerie, no. 39, pl. XXVIII p. 124
Sperling, Harry, Loan Exhibition of Flemish Primitives, no. 23 pp. 80-81
Frankfurter, Alfred M., The Fine Arts, p. 22
Masterpieces of Art, New York's World's Fair, no. 252
Revised and Enlarged Complete Catalogue of the Paintings and Sculptures - Masterpieces of Art. The Official Souvenir Guide and Picture Book, New York World's Fair, 1939, no. 252, pl. 39 p. 10
Lauts, J., Antonello da Messina, pp. 13-14, 34
Philipart, G., Flemish Primitives, no. 13 opp. p. 48
Detroit Institute of Arts, Flanders in the Fifteenth Century: Art and Civilization, no. 34 p. 154
Groeningemuseum, Bruges, Le siècle des primitifs flamands, no. 37 pp. 150, 102
Longhi, Roberto, Scritti giovanili, p. 80
Faggin, Giorgio T.; and Maria Corti, L'Opera completa di Memling, no. 5
Friedländer, Max J., Hans Memling and Gerard David, no. 39, pl. 90 p. 51
Morse, John D., Old Master Paintings in North America, p. 197
Norton Simon Museum, Selected Paintings at the Norton Simon Museum, p. 34
Lane, B. G., Hans Memling, Werkverzeichnis. Die grossen Meister der Malerei, p. 38
Snow-Smith, Joanne, The Salvator Mundi of Leonardo da Vinci, fig. 76 p. 75
De Vos, D., National Biografisch Woordenboek,
Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, p. 23
Leidtke, Walter A.; and Guy C. Bauman, Flemish Paintings in America, A Survey of Early Netherlandish and Flemish Paintings in the Public Collections of North America, fig. 354 p. 354
De Vos, Dirk, Hans Memling: The Complete Works, no. 27 pp. 142-143
De Vos, Dirk, Hans Memling, no. 10 pp. 17, 66-67, 106
Sutton, Peter C., The William Appleton Coolidge Collection, fig. 1 pp. 27-28
Buijsen, Edwin, Oud Holland Jaargang, no. 110, fig. 17 pp. 65, 67
Dunkerton, Jill, Renaissance Venice and the North: Crosscurrents in the Time of Bellini, Durer and Titian, p. 98
Carlo Ginzburg, History Workshop Journal, fig. 12 p. 10-11
Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, cat. 210 p. 271
Kennedy, Trinita and Joan Nolan, A Divine Light: Northern Renaissance Paintings from Bob Jones University, Fig. 52 p. 116
Han Belting, Keith Christiansen, et. al., Giovanni Bellini: Landscapes of Faith in Renaissance Venice, pp. 104-109
Eric Denion, Sophie Denion, Frédéric Mouriaux, Guillaume Béraud, Sclerotic scatter and focusing in eye painting: light through darkness, 1478 p. 9, pp. 237-243 (ill. supplemental materials)
Anonymous, Art News, p. 4
Anonymous, Art News, p. 5
Friedländer, Max J., Der Cicerone, p. 211-212
Vaughan, Malcolm, International Studio, p. 40
Van Miegroet, Max, Gerard David, n. 97, fig. 116 pp. 133, 141
Padovani, S., et al., L'Età di Savonarola: Fra' Bartolomeo e la scuola di San Marco, p. 171
Vollmer, Hans, Allegemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler, p. 375
The Logia of Yeshua,
Winkler, Friedrich, Kunstchronik, p. 314
Longhi, Roberto, L'Arte, p. 212
Vaughn, M., The Connoisseur, p. 295
Friedlander, M., Early Netherlandish Painting, no. 39 p. 51
Lambotte, Paul, et al., Exhibition of Flemish and Belgian Art, 1300-1900, no. 62 p. 31
Catalogue. The Loan Exhibition of Flemish & Belgian Art, Burlington House London 1927: A Memorial Volume, no. 62, pl. XXXIV p. 31
Alexandre, Arsène, La Renaissance de l'Art français et les industries de luxe, pp. 62-64
Friedländer, Max J., Die Altniederlandische Malerie, no. 39, pl. XXVIII p. 124
Sperling, Harry, Loan Exhibition of Flemish Primitives, no. 23 pp. 80-81
Frankfurter, Alfred M., The Fine Arts, p. 22
Masterpieces of Art, New York's World's Fair, no. 252
Revised and Enlarged Complete Catalogue of the Paintings and Sculptures - Masterpieces of Art. The Official Souvenir Guide and Picture Book, New York World's Fair, 1939, no. 252, pl. 39 p. 10
Lauts, J., Antonello da Messina, pp. 13-14, 34
Philipart, G., Flemish Primitives, no. 13 opp. p. 48
Detroit Institute of Arts, Flanders in the Fifteenth Century: Art and Civilization, no. 34 p. 154
Groeningemuseum, Bruges, Le siècle des primitifs flamands, no. 37 pp. 150, 102
Longhi, Roberto, Scritti giovanili, p. 80
Faggin, Giorgio T.; and Maria Corti, L'Opera completa di Memling, no. 5
Friedländer, Max J., Hans Memling and Gerard David, no. 39, pl. 90 p. 51
Morse, John D., Old Master Paintings in North America, p. 197
Norton Simon Museum, Selected Paintings at the Norton Simon Museum, p. 34
Lane, B. G., Hans Memling, Werkverzeichnis. Die grossen Meister der Malerei, p. 38
Snow-Smith, Joanne, The Salvator Mundi of Leonardo da Vinci, fig. 76 p. 75
De Vos, D., National Biografisch Woordenboek,
Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, p. 23
Leidtke, Walter A.; and Guy C. Bauman, Flemish Paintings in America, A Survey of Early Netherlandish and Flemish Paintings in the Public Collections of North America, fig. 354 p. 354
De Vos, Dirk, Hans Memling: The Complete Works, no. 27 pp. 142-143
De Vos, Dirk, Hans Memling, no. 10 pp. 17, 66-67, 106
Sutton, Peter C., The William Appleton Coolidge Collection, fig. 1 pp. 27-28
Buijsen, Edwin, Oud Holland Jaargang, no. 110, fig. 17 pp. 65, 67
Dunkerton, Jill, Renaissance Venice and the North: Crosscurrents in the Time of Bellini, Durer and Titian, p. 98
Carlo Ginzburg, History Workshop Journal, fig. 12 p. 10-11
Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, cat. 210 p. 271
Kennedy, Trinita and Joan Nolan, A Divine Light: Northern Renaissance Paintings from Bob Jones University, Fig. 52 p. 116
Han Belting, Keith Christiansen, et. al., Giovanni Bellini: Landscapes of Faith in Renaissance Venice, pp. 104-109
Eric Denion, Sophie Denion, Frédéric Mouriaux, Guillaume Béraud, Sclerotic scatter and focusing in eye painting: light through darkness, 1478 p. 9, pp. 237-243 (ill. supplemental materials)
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