Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art


    • Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Barbara, 1479
    Hans Memling (Netherlandish, active by 1465, died 1494)
    Oil on wood

    Overall 26 7/8 x 28 7/8 in. (68.3 x 73.3 cm); painted surface 26 3/8 x 28 3/8 in. (67 x 72.1 cm)
    Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913 (14.40.634)

    The composition of this enchanting picture was adapted from a large altarpiece painted in 1479 for Sint-Janshospitaal in Bruges. The donor at the left is shown saying his rosary as he contemplates Saint Catherine's mystic marriage to the infant Christ. Saint Barbara, whose identifying tower is behind her, sets a meditative example by reading. The grape arbor is a later addition.

    Related


    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Ainsworth, Maryan W. "Intentional Alterations of Early Netherlandish Paintings." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 40 (2005).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Bauman, Guy. "Early Flemish Portraits 1425–1525." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 43, no. 4 (Spring, 1986).
    JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs
    • "Director's Note" PDF
  • Haskell, Francis. "The Benjamin Altman Bequest." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 3 (1970).
    JSTOR | PDF
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  • Virgin and Child with Saints Catherine of Alexandria and Barbara, 1479
    Hans Memling (Netherlandish, active by 1465, died 1494)
    Oil on wood

    Overall 26 7/8 x 28 7/8 in. (68.3 x 73.3 cm); painted surface 26 3/8 x 28 3/8 in. (67 x 72.1 cm)
    Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913 (14.40.634)

  • Detail of tree (left).

  • Detail of grape arbor (right).