The Last Judgment (Memling)

Last updated

Hans Memling's Last Judgement, c. late 1460s, National Museum, Gdansk Das Jungste Gericht (Memling).jpg
Hans Memling's Last Judgement, c. late 1460s, National Museum, Gdańsk

The Last Judgment is a triptych attributed to Flemish painter Hans Memling and was painted between 1467 and 1471, and depicts Last Judgment during the second coming of Jesus Christ. The central panel shows Jesus sitting in judgment on the world, while St Michael the Archangel weighs souls: he sends the damned towards Hell (the sinner in St. Michael's right-hand scale pan is a donor portrait of Tommaso Portinari); the left hand panel shows the saved being guided into heaven by St Peter and the angels.

The triptych was commissioned by Angelo Tani, [1] an agent of the Medici at Bruges, but was captured at sea by Paul Beneke, a privateer from Danzig. A lengthy lawsuit against the Hanseatic League demanded its return to Italy. It was placed in the Basilica of the Assumption but in the 20th century it was moved to its present location at the National Museum in Gdańsk in Poland. .

References

  1. When the triptych is closed, Tani and his wife are shown kneeling in prayer.