The Virgin and Child with Saints and Donors (The Donne Triptych)

Artist: Hans Memling (Dutch, Active 1465, died 1494)

Original Dimensions: 28" x 27 5/8"

Location: National Gallery of Art, London

About Artwork: (About 1478) "This is the central panel of a small triptych (a painting in three parts), probably commissioned by Sir John Donne in the late 1470s. In it, he kneels before the Virgin and Christ Child, facing his wife Elizabeth and one of their daughters. They are accompanied by their patron saints Catherine and Barbara, and Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist appear on the side panels (also in the National Gallery’s collection). Sir John’s nose was enlarged during the course of painting, and rapid, hatched brushstrokes indicate shadows and stubble. His head seems to have been painted rapidly and from life. Lady Donne initially looked very like the youthful Saint Barbara but she was made – presumably – more realistic in the course of painting, with thinner lips and a sharper nose. It seems that Memling first painted an idealised head and changed it either when he met Lady Donne or was supplied with better information by her husband." - (National Gallery of Art, London)