"The Flemish Primitive artist Hans Memling (c. 1435-1494), who played a crucial role in early Netherlandish painting, is inextricably associated with Bruges. Among his most impressive creations are the St John Altarpiece and the St Ursula Shrine, which he created for St John's Hospital in the city. Seven more of this fifteenth-century master's finest works can also be seen in Bruges, at what is now the St John's Hospital Museum and at the Groeninge Museum. This book describes Memling's breathtaking paintings in close detail, while offering readers the opportunity to (re)discover his oeuvre as a whole. In a series of accessible essays, Anna Koopstra, curator of early Netherlandish painting at Musea Brugge, explores Memling's imagination, his technical brilliance and the cultural context in which the artist lived and worked."--Page 4 of cover.