Memling, Hans (c.1430-1494)
John the Baptist
c.1485–1490
Oil on oak panel, 69.5 × 24.3 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
This is the inner left wing of the St. John Altarpiece.
St. John Altarpiece (c.1485-1490)
In a balanced composition, Hans Memling depicts the enthroned Madonna with an angel and a kneeling donor, flanked on the left by John the Baptist and on the right by John the Evangelist. In the architectural frame of the central picture, he added small groups of figures with the sacrifice of Isaac and the beheading of St. Catherine – the putti with fruit wreaths already show the influence of the Italian early Renaissance. (KHM)