Perhaps my favorite museum in the world's greatest city of museums is the Frick. The special exhibition of portraits by Hans Memling was the impetus for my weekend.
I have long been a fan of Memling, and this particular portrait from the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. Memling worked in Bruges at the end of the 15th century. He died two years before Columbus landed in the Caribbean. In his lifetime, there is no exact catelogue of his work, yet around 100 paintings survive. This exhibition presented just over 20 of those.
What do I love about Memling? I love his men. He primarily painted the faces of important men from the mercantile and aristocratic classes of this prosperous Renaissance city. He painted with such detail and sympathy that his images give to us today complex and intimate psychological views of his sitters. So personal that you just can't help but embrace them.
A great way to end this first full day of my trip. After experiencing this exhibition, I also toured the permanent collection lingering again with some old friends: the Holbein portrait of Sir Thomas More, The Rembrandt image of the Polish Rider....
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