On the same stand is the beautiful =*diptych= by Memling, representing =Martin van Nieuwenhoven= adoring the Madonna. The _left_ panel represents Our Lady and the Child, with an apple, poised on a beautifully painted cushion. A convex mirror in the background reflects the backs of the figures (as in the Van Eyck of the National Gallery). Through the open window is seen a charming distant prospect. The _right_ panel has the fine portrait of the donor, in a velvet dress painted with extreme realism. Note the admirable prayer-book and joined hands. At his back, a stained glass window shows his patron, St. Martin, dividing his cloak for the beggar. Below, a lovely glimpse of landscape. This is probably Memling’s most successful portrait. Dated 1487: brought here from the _Hospice_ of St. Julian, of which Martin was Master. In all Flemish art, observe now the =wooden face of the Madonna=—ultimately derived, I believe, from imitation of painted wooden figures, and then hardened into a type. As a rule, the Madonna is the least interesting part of all Flemish painting; and after her, the women, especially the young ones. The men’s faces are best, and better when old: character, not beauty, is what the painter cares for. This is most noticeable in Van Eyck, but is true in part even of Memling. At the end of the room is the magnificent =*triptych= painted by Memling for the =High Altar= of the Church of this Hospital. This is the largest of his works, and it is dedicated to the honour of the two saints (John the Evangelist and John the Baptist) who are patrons of the Hospital. The =central panel= represents Our Lady, seated in an exquisite cloister, on a throne backed with cloth of gold. To the right and left are two exquisite angels, one of whom plays a regal, while the other, in a delicious pale blue robe, holds a book for Our Lady. Two smaller angels, poised in air, support her crown. To the left, St. Catherine of Alexandria kneels as princess, with the broken wheel and the sword of her martyrdom at her feet. The Child Christ places a ring on her finger; whence the whole composition is often absurdly called “The Marriage of St. Catherine.” It should be styled “The Altar-piece of the St. Johns.” To the right is St. Barbara, calmly reading, with her tower behind her. When these two saints are thus combined, they represent the meditative and the active life (as St. Barbara was the patroness of arms:) or, more definitely, the clergy and the knighthood. Hence their appropriateness to an institution, half monastic, half secular. In the background stand the two patron saints; St. John Baptist with the lamb (Memling’s personal patron), to the left, and St. John the Evangelist with the cup and serpent, to the right. (For these symbols, see Mrs. Jameson.) Behind the Baptist are scenes from his life and preaching. He is led to prison, and his body is burned by order of Julian the Apostate. Behind the Evangelist, he is seen in the cauldron of boiling oil.