Travel Belgium About Brussels Hans Memling And The Master Of The Legends Of St Lucy And St
Room 14 has some fine portraits by Hans Memling (1430-94) as well as his softly hued
Martyrdom of St Sebastian . Legend asserts that Sebastian was an officer in Diocletian's bodyguard until his Christian faith was discovered, at which point he was sentenced to be shot to death by the imperial archers. Left for dead by the bowmen, Sebastian recovered and Diocletian had to send a bunch of assassins to finish him off with cudgels. The tale made Sebastian popular with archers across Western Europe, and Memling's picture - showing the trussed up saint serenely indifferent to the arrows of the firing squad - was commissioned by the guild of archers in Bruges around 1470. In the same room, the Master of the Legend of St Lucy weighs in with a finely detailed and richly allegorical
Madonna with Saints , where, with the city of Bruges in the background, the Madonna presents the infant Jesus for the adoration of eleven holy women. Decked out in elaborate medieval attire, the women have blank, almost expressionless faces, but each bears a token of her sainthood which would have been easily recognised by a medieval congregation. St Lucy, whose assistance was sought by those with sight problems, holds two eyes in a dish.
In Room 15 , there's more early Flemish art in the shape of the Scenes from the Life of St Barbara , one panel from an original pair by the Master of the Legend of St Barbara. One of the most popular of medieval saints, Barbara, so the story goes, was a woman of great beauty whose father locked her away in a tower to keep her away from her admirers. The imprisoned Barbara became a Christian whereupon her father, Dioscurus, tried to kill her, only to be thwarted by a miracle that placed her out of his reach - a part of the tale that's ingeniously depicted in this painting. Naturally, no self-respecting saint could escape so easily, so later parts of the story have Barbara handed over to the local prince, who tortures her for her faith. Barbara resists and the prince orders Dioscurus to kill her himself, which he does only to be immediately incinerated by a bolt of lightning
