Saint John the Evangelist

1466–1494 · Virkested

Bruges

between 1470 and 1480

Marries Anna de Valkenaere

Sometime between 1470 and 1480 Memling marries Anna de Valkenaere; the couple have three sons, Jan, Cornelis and Nicolaas.

1477

A contract with the booksellers’ guild of Bruges

In 1477, when he was believed dead, Memling is under contract for an altarpiece for the guild chapel of the booksellers of Bruges, the “Scenes of the Passion of Christ”, now in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin. The romantic legend of a soldier of Charles the Bold’s army wounded at Nancy in 1477 does not correspond to reality.

1480

Among the richest burghers: a loan to Maximilian I

A tax document of 1480 lists Memling among the wealthiest citizens of Bruges: his name is on the list of 875 burghers obliged to subscribe to the loan Maximilian I of Austria raised to finance his war against France. It does not appear on later lists of this kind.

1480 and 1486

Two of Memling’s apprentices join the guild

The registers of the painters’ guild of Bruges name two apprentices who served their time with Memling and paid their dues on admission to the guild in 1480 and 1486.