Portrait of an Elderly Woman

Painting by Hans Memling

Portrait of an Old Woman is a small oil on wood panel painting by the Early Netherlandish painter Hans Memling, completed c 1475–80, and in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, since 1944. The panel has obviously been cut down, given its tight framing. The woman's face and headdress dominate the remaining pictorial space; they create a strong contrast between her cream headgear and the black background and the lower portion of the painting, which was originally bluish-green, but has darkened with age and accumulated dirt. Yet the panel is in good condition following a restoration that replaced lost paint in several areas.

The panel is noted for its dramatic contrasts in light and colour, and its subtle treatment of skin tones, which are comparable to Memling's c. 1472 Portrait of Maria Portinari in New York.

*Portrait of an Elderly Man*, Hans Memling, 1475 or thereabouts

The painting was obviously at one time a donor wing, either for a diptych or triptych, which was broken apart at some stage. It is probably thus related to the Portrait of an Elderly Man now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. That reasoning for the two paintings commission is unknown, but it is likely they were intended as donor portraits for a larger work.

The painting was in Paris in 1910, when it was sold to C. von Hollitscher of Berlin. From there, it passed into the von Auspitz collection in Vienna until 1931. The art dealer Bachstitz acquired it, who sold it to Percy S. Straus in 1934. The painting was bequeathed to the Museum of Fine Arts in 1944.

Notes

"Portrait of an Old Man." Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 27 February 2016

Sources

Panofsky, Erwin. Early Netherlandish Painting. London: Harper Collins, 1953. ISBN 978-0-06-430002-5
De Vos, Dirk. Hans Memling: The Complete Works. Ghent: Harry N Abrams, 1994. ISBN 978-0-8109-3649-2

v t e Hans Memling
Individual religious panels	Virgin and Child Enthroned with two Musical Angels, c. 1467 Scenes from the Passion of Christ, c. 1470 Adoration of the Magi, c. 1471 Mater Dolorosa, c. 1475 Madonna and Child with Angels, c. 1479 Allegory with a Virgin, c. 1479–1480 Advent and Triumph of Christ, c. 1480 Mater Dolorosa, c. 1480 Mystic Marriage of St Catherine, c. 1480 Angel Musicians, 1480s Pagagnotti Triptych, c. 1480 Christ Surrounded by Musician Angels, c. 1480s Annunciation, 1480s Adam and Eve, c. 1485 Bathsheba, c. 1485 Madonna and Child with Saint James and Saint Dominic, c. 1485
Polyptychs	Last Judgment, c. 1467–1471 Diptych of an elderly couple, c. 1470–1472 Diptych of Jean de Cellier, c. 1475 Jan Floreins Altarpiece, 1479 St John Altarpiece, 1479 Adoration of the Magi, c. 1479–1480 Adriaan Reins Altarpiece, 1480 Donne Triptych, c. 1480 Moreel Triptych, 1484 Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation, c. 1485 Benedetto Portinari Triptych, 1487 Diptych of Maarten van Nieuwenhove, 1487 St. Ursula Shrine, c. 1489 Christ Surrounded by Singing and Music-making Angels, c. 1483–1494
Portraits	Portrait of a Man in a Red Hat, c. 1465–1470 Portrait of a Man, c. 1470–1472 Portrait of Tommaso Portinari, c. 1470–1472 Portrait of Maria Portinari, c. 1470–1472 Portrait of an Elderly Man, c. 1470–1475 Portrait of an Elderly Woman, c. 1470–1475 Portrait of a Man with a Pink Carnation, 1475 Portrait of Benedetto Portinari, 1478 Portrait of Willem Morell, c. 1480 Portrait of a Man with a Roman Medal, c. 1480 Portrait of Barbara van Vlaendenbergh, c. 1480 Sibylla Sambetha, c. 1480 Portrait of Folco Portinari, c. 1490

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