Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Burgundian dukes. He would have seen
tableaux vivants,
where
Brugeois would pose in costume like human statues to enact
an event from the Bible or from city history. (American “living
Christmas crèches” carry on this dying art form.)
Middle Panel:
Back in Köln, a surprise awaits them—the city
has been taken over by vicious Huns. They grab Etherus and stab
him. He dies in Ursula's arms.
Right Panel:
The Hun king (in red with turban and beard)
woos Ursula, placing his hand over his heart, but she says, “No
way.” So a Hun soldier draws his
arrow and prepares to shoot her
dead. Even here, at the climax of
the story, there are no histrionics.
Even the dog just sits down, crosses
his paws, and watches. The whole
shrine cycle is as posed, motionless,
and colorful as the
tableaux vivants
t hat may have inaug u rated t he
shrine here in this church in 1489.
In t he bac k g rou nd beh i nd
Ursula, a Bruges couple looks on
sympathetically. This may be Memling himself (in red coat with
fur lining) and his wife, Anna, who bore his three children. Behind
them, Memling renders an accurate city skyline of Köln, including
a side view of the Köln Cathedral (missing its still-unfinished tall
spires).
• In the small adjoining room, find several more Memlings.
Portrait of a Young Woman
(1480)
Memling's bread-and-butter was portraits done for families of
wealthy merchants (especially visiting Italians and Portuguese).
This portrait takes us right back to that time.
The young woman looks out of the frame as if she were look-
ing out a window. Her hands rest on the
“sill,” with the fingertips sticking over. The
frame is original, but the banner and Van
Eyck-like lettering are not.
Her clothes look somewhat simple, but
they were high-class in their day. A dark
damask dress is brightened by a red sash
and a detachable white collar. She's pulled
her hair into a tight bun at the back, pinned
there with a fez-like cap and draped with a
transparent veil. She's shaved her hairline
and plucked her brows to get that clean,
high-forehead look. Her ensemble is ani-
