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Portrait of an Old Man

Hans Memling Netherlandish
ca. 1475
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 602

This sympathetic portrayal of an elderly man once formed a diptych with a portrait of an old woman now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Unlike many other portrait pairs from this time, these were not parts of a devotional composition but were created with the idea of preserving the appearances of the sitters as they neared the ends of their lives, attesting to portraiture’s increasingly important commemorative function.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of an Old Man
  • Artist: Hans Memling (Netherlandish, Seligenstadt, active by 1465–died 1494 Bruges)
  • Date: ca. 1475
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: Overall 10 3/8 x 7 5/8 in. (26.4 x 19.4 cm); painted surface 10 x 7 1/4 in. (25.4 x 18.4 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
  • Object Number: 14.40.648
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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The Annunciation, Hans Memling Netherlandish, Oil on wood
The Annunciation
Hans Memling
ca. 1465–70
Portrait of an Old Man, Hugo van der Goes Netherlandish, Oil on paper, laid down on wood
Portrait of an Old Man
Hugo van der Goes
ca. 1470–75
Portrait of a Man in a Chaperon, Netherlandish Painter Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Portrait of a Man in a Chaperon
Netherlandish Painter
Salvator Mundi, Hans Memling Netherlandish, Oil on wood
Salvator Mundi
Hans Memling
1480–85
The Annunciation, Hans Memling Netherlandish, Oil on panel, transferred to canvas
The Annunciation
Hans Memling
1480–89

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