Hans Memling, Memling also spelled Memlinc, (born c. 1430-40, Seligenstadt, near Frankfurt am Main [Germany] - died August 11, 1494, Bruges [Belgium]), leading South Netherlandish painter of the Bruges school during the period of the city’s political and commercial decline.
The number of his imitators and followers testifies to his popularity throughout Flanders.
His last commission, which has been widely copied, is a Crucifixion panel from the Passion triptych (1491).
Memling, born in the region of the Middle Rhine, was apparently first schooled in the art of Cologne and then traveled to the Netherlands (c. 1455-60), where he probably trained in the workshop of the painter Rogier van der Weyden.
He settled in Bruges (Brugge) in 1465; there he established a large shop and executed numerous altarpieces and portraits. Indeed, he was very successful in Bruges: it is known that he owned a large stone house and by 1480 was listed among the wealthiest citizens on the city tax accounts.
Sometime between 1470-1480 Memling married Anna de Valkenaere (died 1487), with whom he had three children.
