The Final Judgement ....
... again
Quote of the week
Judgements prevent us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearances.
Wayne Dyer
Hello,
When you are reading this I will be on a trip to Ireland. Today is May 1, and since I am not out demonstrating, I decided to write a short newsletter. It refers partly to my last one about Memling’s triptych The Final Judgement. How important historical objects are exposed to danger from world events. Since last week I did read the information leaflet I got from the museum, and it turns out that the triptych had a slightly more adventurous road than I mentioned earlier, so here a small update.
The Final Judgement by Hans Memling
Origin
It is thought that Memling painted the triptych between 1467 and 1471 in Bruges. It was commissioned by Florentine banker Angelo di Jacopo Tani. On the back sides Tani and his wife are painted. The identification has been confirmed by the family crests seen on the painting. This was done by a German art historian, Aby Warburg, in 1902. The triptych was intended for the Tani family chapel in Badie Fiesolana church near Florence. Their daughter, not in the painting, was born in 1471 and that also marks the completion of the triptych. One do wonder if they ever so the paintings during production. After all they lived in Bruges and maybe they had the opportunity to visit the painter’s workshop. One hopes.
The Road to Italy
The final work with the altar and its central piece was completed in 1473 and loaded onto the Burgundian galley, Aan Matteo. The triptych had to share the cargo space with a load of alum, leathers and fabrics. At the time the Hanseatic League and England were at war and on 27 April, the ship was attacked and plundered by Gdansk privateer Paul Beneke. That is how the triptych ended up in Gdansk in the first place. The owners tried to retrieve it, even asking the pope and Duke Charles the Bold for help. All in vain. The citizens of Gdansk were happy though and could enjoy and admire it in St Mary’s Church where it was displayed. Today there is a copy of it displayed in the church.
Attempts to Seize the Painting
Such a rare piece would not be left in peace. Several European monarchs tried their best to get hold of it. In 1612, Emperor Rudolf II, wanted to include it in his art collection and offered 40,000 thalers for it, but was rejected. In 1717, Tsar Peter I (the Great) made an attempt to capture it during the Northern War. He did not try more than diplomacy, even when he was rejected as well. For that we have to be thankful.
Departures and Returns
It might not come as a surprise that the person who did manage to snatch it from Gdansk was Emperor Napoleon. He occupied Gdansk in 1807 and simply packed up the painting and took it to Paris. Also there it was admired, although it was exposed as a work by Jan van Eyck. After the fall of Napoleon, it was requisitioned by the Prussian army and taken to Berlin. In 1817, the citizens of Gdansk managed to have the painting returned.
It does not end there. In 1942 it was evacuated to Mierzeszyn (German: Meisterswalde) near by Gdansk, where it was kept in an Evangelical church for a couple of years. It was then taken to Germany, hidden in a church in the town of Helmershausen in Thuringia. In 1946, it was seized and ‘secured’ by the Red Army in Berlin, taken to Leningrad, and placed in the Hermitage Museum. There it underwent restoration in 1947 and 1955. It was only in 1956 that the triptych was returned to Gdansk in a reclaiming and good-will campaign. It was placed in what is today the National Museum. It still remains there and one can only hope it has found its resting place.
No evil that has no good in it. Is that what you say in English? The good thing is that it was never destroyed and only needed minor restoration. Its European ‘travels’ brought another positive effect. Its display in Paris and Berlin did not only make it popular with the public, it also attracted attention from specialist and scholars, who have contributed their knowledge to enhance the work. I am so happy that I had the opportunity to see it.
I have also managed a couple of blog posts today.
April Wrap-Up - a summary of the books I read in April.
What to read for the Classic Club Spin #37 - which classic book am I to read for May?