Portrait of a Man with an Arrow
c. 1470/1475
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
painted surface: 31.3 x 25.1 cm (12 5/16 x 9 7/8 in.) overall (panel): 31.9 x 25.8 cm (12 9/16 x 10 3/16 in.) framed: 40.2 x 32.7 x 6.4 cm (15 13/16 x 12 7/8 x 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CNE-R
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Accession Number
1937.1.42
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Hans Memling, a leading painter of the Northern Renaissance, created this intimate portrait around 1470–1475 while working in Bruges. Active during a period when the Low Countries flourished as centers of trade and artistic innovation, Memling specialized in sensitive depictions of individuals that captured both likeness and inner character. The small scale of the panel suggests it may have been intended for private devotion or personal commemoration. Painted in oil on panel, the work showcases the medium’s remarkable capacity for luminous color, subtle gradations of light, and meticulous det...