Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
head on her silver platter with a humble
servant's downcast eyes, as if accepting
her role in God's wonderful, if sometimes
painful, plan.
In the background, left, we can look
into Herod's palace, where he sits at a
banquet table with his wife while Salomé
dances modestly in front of him. Herod's
lust is only hinted at with the naked stat-
ues—a man between two women—that
adorn the palace exterior.
Right Panel—John the Evangelist's
Vision of the Apocalypse:
John sits on
a high, rocky bluff on the island of Patmos and
sees the end of the world as we know it...and he
feels fine.
Overhead, in a rainbow bubble, God appears
on his throne, resting his hand on a sealed book.
A lamb steps up to open the seals, unleashing the
awful events at the end of time. Standing at the
bottom of the rainbow, an angel in green gestures
to John and says, “Write this down.” John starts
to dip his quill into the inkwell (his other hand
holds the quill-sharpener), but he pauses, abso-
lutely transfixed, experiencing the Apocalypse
now.
He sees wars, fires, and plagues on the horizon, the Virgin in
the sky rebuking a red dragon, and many other wonders. Fervent
fundamentalists should bring their Bibles along, because there are
many specific references brought to life in a literal way.
In the center ride the dreaded Four Horsemen, wreaking
havoc on the cosmos (galloping over either islands or clouds).
Horseman number four is a skeleton, followed by a human-eating
monster head. Helpless mortals on the right seek shelter in the
rocks, but find none.
Memling has been criticized for building a career by copying
the formulas of his predecessors, but this panel is a complete origi-
nal. Its theme had never been so fully expressed, and the bright,
contrasting colors and vivid imagery are almost modern. In the
St. John Altarpiece,
Memling shows us the full range of his palette,
from medieval grace to Renaissance symmetry, from the real to
the surreal.
• In a glass case, find the...
