Virgin Enthroned with Child and Angel 1480

Hans Memling painted this panel of the Virgin and Child using oil on wood, a relatively new medium at the time. Memling’s material choices are critical to this work’s function as both a devotional object and display of wealth. Note the sumptuously rendered textiles - the Virgin’s mantle, the tapestry behind her, and especially the intricate carpet beneath her feet. These would have taken an enormous amount of labor to produce. The pigments used to create the rich reds and blues would also have been expensive, derived from sources like precious minerals, and available to only a select few. We can also imagine the many layers of painstaking labor that went into the painting itself. The smooth surface, luminous colors, and precise details all speak to Memling’s mastery of the oil medium, which allowed him to create a remarkably lifelike and detailed image. By emphasizing the materiality and making of this painting, we can appreciate it as a complex object that reflects the social, economic, and religious values of its time.