“Scenes from the Passion of Christ”
And now, a visual feast with all sorts of depth and detail…
This oil on oak panel painting, titled “Scenes from the Passion of Christ”, is by the German Early Netherlandish artist, Hans Memling, from 1470 to 1471.
In this piece, Memling combined 23 scenes from the Life of Christ into one image. The narrative begins in the back left with Jesus entering Jerusalem, to the Garden of Gethsemane in the bottom left where he was arrested, to the middle when Jesus is brought before Pilate, to the crucifixion in the back right behind the town, and finally to his death and resurrection.
Memling gave the painting a higher perspective and viewer vantage point, giving a bird’s eye view of an idealized depiction of Jerusalem. Interestingly, the scene is illuminated by the rising sun in the upper right corner. As such, the center of the painting is well lit and the left-hand side is cast in shadow, an unusual choice at the time.
Many of Memling’s religious pieces, such as the one seen here, reflect the trend in the art of Flanders at the time to include an entire cycle, or story, in one piece of art, with the story line meandering through the piece. This is Memling’s first attempt at the style. He went on to create at least one more.
Memling adapted his own style to the traditional Early Netherlandish painting genre. His work had an overall softer appearance, and his figures were slender and graceful. Memling’s portraits, though stylistic, are thought to be more realistic in their likeness to the patrons that bought them.
This painting was commissioned by the Italian banker and representative of the Medici family, Tommaso Portinari. As the donor, Memling painted both Portinari and his wife’s portraits into the painting. They are depicted on their knees with their hands clasped in prayer on the lower left and lower right corners of the panel.
“Scenes from the Passion of Christ” is currently in the collections of the Galleria Sabauda in Turin, Italy.
For more on Hans Memling, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
