Full title | Saint John the Baptist |
---|---|
Artist | Hans Memling |
Artist dates | active 1465; died 1494 |
Group | Two Panels from a Triptych |
Date made | about 1480 |
Medium and support | Oil on oak |
Dimensions | 57.5 x 17.3 cm |
Acquisition credit | Bought, 1865 |
Inventory number | NG747.1 |
Location | Room 63 |
Art route(s) | A |
Collection | Main Collection |
Saint John the Baptist, dressed in a hair shirt and a purple mantle, holds his attribute of a lamb. This refined painting was originally the left wing of a small triptych (an image made up of three parts). The central panel, which shows the Virgin and Child, is now in the Uffizi, Florence while the right wing is also in the National Gallery’s collection. Hans Memling frequently recycled ideas and he reused many of his workshop patterns in this triptych: similar Baptists appear in a number of his other paintings.
On the reverse of this panel four cranes stand in a dark landscape, the sun probably rising over the trees behind them. One at the front holds a stone in his claw. The vigilant crane was the emblem of the bishop and astrologer Benedetto Pagagnotti, the first owner of the triptych, whose coat of arms hangs on a tree behind.
Saint John the Baptist, dressed in a hair shirt and a purple mantle, holds his attribute of a lamb. According to the Gospels, the saint lived as a hermit in the desert, wearing clothes of camel hair and eating locusts and honey, and was the first to recognise Christ as the Messiah. When he baptised Christ in the river Jordan he proclaimed, ‘Behold the Lamb of God’ (John 1: 36), which explains his gesturing with his right hand to the lamb in his left.
This refined painting was originally the left wing of a small triptych by Hans Memling, the central panel of which showed the Virgin and Child, and the right-hand wing Saint Lawrence. Memling frequently recycled ideas and he reused many of his workshop patterns in this triptych. Similar Baptists appear on the left wing of The Virgin and Child with Saints and Donors (The Donne Triptych), in the centre panel of the Triptych of the Two Saints John (Memling Museum, Bruges) of 1479 and in the Small Triptych of Saint John the Baptist (Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna). The lamb’s head is so similar to that of the animal in Saint John the Baptist (Alte Pinakothek, Münich) that both may depend on the same drawing.
On the reverse of the panel four cranes stand in a dark landscape lit by the sun, which is probably rising. One at the front holds a stone in his upraised claw. According to legend, at night flocks of cranes would post a single bird as sentry. To prevent itself falling asleep, this bird would hold a stone in its foot: if it dropped the stone it would wake up immediately. Because of this legend, cranes in medieval art became a symbol of vigilance. The fox on the upper right side may represent the dangers from which the sentinel crane is protecting the others. The vigilant crane was the emblem of the bishop and astrologer Benedetto Pagagnotti, the first owner of the triptych, whose coat of arms hangs on a tree behind.
Technical analysis of the painting shows underdrawing for the figure, the lamb and the landscape, quite freely executed.
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Two Panels from a Triptych
These panels were once the wings of a small triptych (a painting in three parts), the centre panel of which – The Virgin and Child with Two Angels – is now in the Uffizi, Florence. The altarpiece was demonstrably in Florence by the end of the fifteenth century, as its landscape backgrounds were frequently copied by Florentine artists of the time.
This composition, with the Virgin and Child enthroned and flanked by standing saints, was a popular product of Hans Memling’s workshop. The Virgin, Christ and angels in the Uffizi painting reappear in several other works by him, including The Donne Triptych (also in the National Gallery’s collection).
On the outside of the wings nine beautifully painted cranes stand in a dark landscape beneath the coat of arms and emblems of the Pagagnotti family. The triptych’s first owner was almost certainly the high-ranking bishop Benedetto Pagagnotti, who used the crane and compasses as his emblem.
These panels were once the wings of a small triptych, the centre panel of which – The Virgin and Child with Two Angels – is now in the Uffizi, Florence. The architectural settings, the step, the patterns of the tiled floors and the landscapes are continuous from the wings to the centre panel. The open triptych shows the Virgin and Child enthroned on a dais, with two saints standing on the same dais. Though all three panels are framed by arches, the principal figures inhabit the same open edifice.
This composition, with the Virgin and Child enthroned and flanked by standing saints, was a popular product of Hans Memling’s workshop. The Virgin, Christ and angels in the Uffizi painting reappear in several other pictures by him, including The Virgin and Child with Saints and Donors (The Donne Triptych).
The altarpiece was demonstrably in Florence by the end of the fifteenth century, as its landscape backgrounds were frequently copied by Florentine artists of the time. The earliest datable copies are from an altarpiece by Fra Filippino Lippi datable to 1482–83, which includes copies of the castle on the left and the watermill on the right. Our panels were probably painted around 1480, by which time Memling was the leading artist in Bruges and very popular with Italian patrons.
On the outside of the wings nine beautifully painted cranes stand in a dark landscape beneath the coat of arms and emblems of the Pagagnotti, an important Florentine family and close associates of the famous bankers and de facto rulers of Florence, the Medici. The triptych’s first owner was almost certainly the high-ranking bishop Benedetto Pagagnotti, who used the crane and compasses as his emblem. He was initially a friar at the Dominican priory of San Marco and became bishop of Vaison in 1485, though he remained in Florence and was give the title ’suffragan and lieutenant general of the Archbishop'. A figure of very considerable importance, he moved in 1486 from San Marco to the less austere Dominican convent of Santa Maria Novella, where he occupied the papal apartments. He died in 1523.
Benedetto Pagagnotti is not known to have visited the Netherlands, so the triptych was presumably commissioned by a well-informed associate, either on his behalf or as a gift for him. His relative, Paulo Ulivieri-Pagagnotti, probably did visit Bruges and may have been involved. It might also have been facilitated by the Bruges branch of the Medici bank. The saints in the wings, John the Baptist and Lawrence, have no obvious connection with the Pagagnotti, although Saint John is the patron saint of Florence. Several members of the Medici family were named Giovanni and Lorenzo, however, and in 1491 Benedetto addressed Lorenzo the Magnificent as his benefactor; perhaps they are a compliment to his patrons.


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