Dylan Hawk

Survey of Art History II

Johnathan Farris
TR: 12:30 – 1:45

Tommaso di Folco Portinari and Maria Portinari

Tommaso di Folco Portinari and Maria Portinari are two oil portraits painted on wood

around 1470 by Netherlandish Hans Memling. The original is a triptych: Tommaso, and Mary

flanking the Virgin Mary with the Child, to whom it shows them praying. It is currently on view

at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The plain donor portraits will be the focus of this

description and analysis.

Starting with Tommaso’s portrait, from top to bottom, Memling puts him in front of a

very black background. Tommaso’s hair is dark brown. The short haircut, straight-cut bangs,

with the remaining length being relatively even all the way around, is a popular haircut for this

time.

Tommaso’s face has an incredible amount of detail in contrast to dark clothes and an

even darker background. The wrinkles are delicately added to the brow and forehead. His

eyebrows appear to be hair-painted. The eyes sit placidly in the expression of a subtle yet

painstakingly crafted crow’s foot in the outer corners. Atop the smooth rosy cheeks, strong nose,

and moving down the face, Tommaso has some emerging facial hair or five o’clock shadow on

his sideburns. Individual stubbles of hair also surround his thin lips and chin. The neck includes

natural wrinkles as well.

Tommaso is wearing a very dark, almost black, finely patterned jerkin or jacket atop a

maroon or burgundy garment which peeks out in the neck and sleeve. The sleeves and collar also
have a velvety texture when viewed very closely. The hands, in a position of prayer, are finely

painted and rest lightly together. He wears a ring on the fifth finger of the right hand with a

singular blue-green gem inlaid gold.

Looking closely at the constructed frame surrounding Tommaso, it is illusionistically

placed and created with paint. His right shoulder overlaps the frame in a way that illusionistic

space is created.

The portrait of Maria has many immediately identifiable similar characteristics to her

husband. Again, from top to bottom, the hennin she wears has a truncated top. It overlaps

Memling’s illusionistic framework in the upper right. The background is the same void of black

as her counterpart’s. Her hennin possesses a sheer veil that falls upon her shoulder and rests

down her back. Maria wears this at a very steep angle on the top of her head and the dark lappets

frame her hairline and similarly fall to the shoulder. On the forehead connected to her headdress

is also a small loop. Maria’s forehead is very large, and her hairline appears to recede under the

hennin. High hairlines are fashionable.

Maria’s face is similarly finely detailed like her husband’s. Her light eyebrows are light

and thin, almost barely there. The eyes are youthful with no wrinkles but also placid. Puffiness in

the under-eye makes her appear tired or possibly show her age. The lightly blushed cheeks

contain no blemishes and a faint smile line can be seen at the corner of the nose. Her chin even

has a very faint dimple.

Down her youthful throat, you can see a faint, umber-colored spotting above the top of

the sternum. This is most likely where the black beaded necklace rested at a previous time during

the initial painting. Below the black beaded string necklace rests an extraordinary intricately

woven collar in stark contrast. It is gold with colored five-petaled flowers that hold pearls and
precious stones. Small gold and black droplet-like shapes dangle from the bottom all the way

around. Underneath is an implied third necklace that does not connect around her neck.

Maria wears a fur-trimmed maroon velvet gown with a black camisole or underdress. Her

hands sit slightly firmer together than her husband’s and upon her left-hand rests a ring on the

fourth finger. The ring is similarly gold but has two gems, red and dark green.

To conclude, when viewed in tandem, the two portraits create a pious and melancholy

attitude. The gaze they both possess is devoid of emotion and does not give insight into the true

inner emotions of the figures. We can tell by Maria's dress and the jewelry worn that the couple

is not low on the hierarchal scale. Without the middle piece, some context is lost, yet Hans

Memling creates stunning and still readable portraits that don't necessarily require the central

pane.
 Works Cited

Metmuseum.org, www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/14.40.626-27/.