Christ Blessing

This Christ Blessing, around 1481 and in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, presents a frontal, icon-like image of Christ raising his hand in benediction — a devotional portrait type that derives from Byzantine prototypes and was given new life in Netherlandish oil painting. Memling rendered this ancient devotional image with the full resources of his extraordinary technique, giving Christ the direct, living presence that oil painting's ability to model flesh and light could achieve in a way that tempera or fresco could not. Hans Memling brought serene, refined beauty to Flemish devotional painting, becoming the leading artist in Bruges after the death of van der Weyden. The translucent quality of the flesh painting and the precise detail of hair and beard in this Christ Blessing demonstrate extraordinary technical skill applied to one of the most demanding subjects in devotional painting — a face that must convey divinity through naturalistic means.

Christ faces the viewer directly with his right hand raised in blessing, his features rendered with Memling's refined modeling. The translucent quality of the flesh painting and the precise detail of hair and beard demonstrate extraordinary technical skill.