Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling: A Guide to Bruges' Flemish Masterpieces

Bruges is the city of Jan van Eyck, who lived there from 1432 until his death in 1441, serving as court painter and diplomat for Philip the Good. His works are housed at the Groeningemuseum, including the Madonna of Canon van der Paele (1436), his largest surviving single panel, and the Portrait of Margherita van Eyck (1439), one of the earliest modern female portraits in European art. The Ghent Altarpiece, or Polittico dell'Agnello Mistico, a monumental oil-on-panel work by Jan and his brother Hubert van Eyck, is undergoing a controversial restoration at the MSK in Ghent, where the top paint layer from a 17th-century repainting is being removed to reveal the original. The restoration is expected to be complete by the end of 2019, and in 2020 the MSK will host the largest-ever exhibition dedicated to van Eyck. Hans Memling, a second-generation Flemish Primitive influenced by van Eyck, moved to Bruges in 1465 and produced masterpieces now at the Sint-Janshospitaal museum, including the Triptych of the Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine (1479) and the Reliquary of St. Ursula (1489). Other van Eyck works are in London, Paris, and Turin.