Little is known of Memling’s life. It is surmised that he was a German by descent but the definite fact of his life is that he painted at Bruges, sharing with the van Eycks, who had also worked in that city, the honour of being the leading artists of the so-called "School of Bruges". He carried on their method of painting, and added to it a quality of gentle sentiment. In his case, as in theirs, Flemish art, founded upon local conditions and embodying purely local ideals, reached its fullest expression.


About the author:
Alfred Michiels was an art and literary critic as well as a journalist and art historian. He contributed to numerous journals such as Le Temps, La Réforme, Le Siècle, the National, the Revue indépendante, the Revue de Paris and the Revue britannique. He also published novels, short stories, dramas, travel books and scholarly works of literature, such as the poetry of Philippe Desportes and the complete works of Regnard, as well as a theory of comedy and various theatrical arrangements. He specialised in German and Flemish painting, and wrote a History of Flemish Painting, which to this day is one of the most important book written on the subject.

This volume is an eloquent and superb presentation and analysis of the art of Hans Memling, in the historical and sociocultural context of the fifteenth century. His work on this Master will charm the public with its wonderful narration and breathtaking analysis.