Saint Benedict: Left wing

This Saint Benedict, around 1487, the left wing of a triptych now in the Uffizi, depicts the founder of Western monasticism in his characteristic black Benedictine habit. The painting demonstrates Memling's ability to convey spiritual authority through formal portraiture conventions Hans Memling brought serene, refined beauty to Flemish devotional painting, becoming the leading artist in Bruges after the death of van der Weyden Altarpieces featuring rows of standing saints served both liturgica

The saint is rendered in three-quarter view with his monastic habit and attributes carefully described. Memling's precise technique creates convincing material surfaces—the wool of the habit, the pages of the rule book, the saint's aged skin.