Tommaso di Folco Portinari and Maria Portinari by Hans Memling

While I was on the art trip to New York I had the opportunity to visit the Met. It was by far my favorite museum that I had the chance to see that day. There was a lot to see from many different periods, but my favorite period that I had the chance to see was the paintings from the Italian Renaissance. I loved the style, and that there were many portraits. Two portraits I was especially fond of was Tommaso di Folco Portinari and Maria Portinari, is by Hans Memling. They were simple but something about them caught my eye.

Tommaso di Folco Portinari and Maria Portinari, is by Hans Memling. Hans Memling was of Netherlandish decent and was active during the 1460’s and died in 1494. The pieces displayed were painted in an Italian mercantile community in Bruges during the Early Renaissance in Italy. They are two oil paintings, painted on wood; about twenty four inches by twenty four inches in size. The painting was thought to have been commissioned for the Potinari’s wedding. It was part of a triptych that had a devotional image of the Virgin and Child depicted in the center.

The paintings portray two figures facing towards each other, with their hands folded in front of them. The figures shown are of Tommaso di Folco Portinari, and Maria Portinari, formerly Maria Maddalena Baroncelli. They are both clothed in mostly black clothing, but have accents such as jewelry and a headdress to show their wealth. They are both positioned at a three quarter angle and are staring ahead, focused on something in front of them. In addition both are simple paintings, with plain colored backgrounds, and little detail and adornment. They are plainly framed, and the main focus is not extravagance, but the simplicity of the composition itself.

Some of the features that are characteristic of the time period that these were made are the three quarter view, the facial features, and the poses of the two subjects. Most subjects of this time period focused on being reverent by clasping their hands in front of them and looking demure. The clothing style in Memling’s paintings also mimics common clothing for the period it was painted. Another similarity of his works compared to those of the period is the mediums used. Painting was a very popular pastime during the Early Renaissance in Italy, so it is not surprising that his paintings are done with oil paints on wood, a common type of method for the period. In addition these two paintings used to be part of a triptych, which was a common kind of painting seen during this particular period.

Even though these two paintings aren’t very busy, the facial expressions caught my attention. I learned that when these paintings were commissioned for the wedding she was fourteen and he was forty. Though this was common during the time, I got to wondering if her expression was more dread about her wedding than trying to look pious. Her expression to me seems sour more than anything else. Overall her facial expression just got me wondering.

All in all I had a great time in the Met and in New York, I got to see some really awesome pieces of art and around every corner there was something new to look at. I definitely would go back again to see things that I missed and experience more of what the Met has to offer.