Triptych of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist by Hans Memling - 5

organisation of the pictorial narrative around the legends of John the Baptist, John the Evangelist and the Old St John's Hospital

a number of small scenes

The narrative is structured around a number of small scenes

depicting the two legends,
- of John the Baptist
- and John the Evangelist
and representing the Crane's square of Bruges linked to the St. John's Hospital.

the narrative begins with the capitals of columns

The two legends begin spatially with the sculpted scenes above each saint in the column capitals.

Hans MEMLING, “Triptych of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist”, details of the central panel, from left to right: the four capitals, Memling Museum, Old St. John's Hospital, Bruges (Brugge) — details of the central panel, from left to right: the four capitals

the narrative continues with small scenes in the distance

This manner of ordering the composition, which is found in many of Memling's other works, takes up the layout techniques of illumination ^{note 7}: the various scenes are tiered up to a very high placed horizon.

Small scenes take place in the distant within the various framings operated by the columns.

Hans MEMLING, “Triptych of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist”, details of the central panel, “opening on the horizon”, Memling Museum, Old St. John's Hospital, Bruges (Brugge) — details of the central panel, “opening on the horizon”
on the left, scenes from the Legend of John the Baptist, on the right, those of John the Evangelist

the narrative concludes with each of the two inner shutters

The narrative of the two legends then continues in each of the two inner panels.

Hans MEMLING, “Triptych of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist”, the right and left inner shutters: in the foreground on the left one, John the Baptist beheaded by Herod's order, on the right one, John the Evangelist in Patmos, Memling Museum, Old St. John's Hospital, Bruges (Brugge) — the right and left inner shutters: in the foreground of the left one, John the Baptist beheaded by Herod's order, on the right one, John the Evangelist in Patmos

On each shutter, an episode forms a main scene in the foreground, completed in the narrative by small scenes in the distance.

on the left inner shutter, John the Baptist has just been beheaded by Herod's order,
on the right inner shutter, John the Evangelist receives the «unveiling» of the text of The Revelation in Patmos.

Crane's square, symbolises the St. John hospital

The view from the Crane's square(Kraanplaats) and St. John's Church, in the background to the right of the drapery of honour behind the virgin, behind John the Evangelist refers directly to the religious leaders of the hospital sponsors of the work and to the history of the commissioning institution.

Hans MEMLING, “Triptych of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist”, détail du panneau central, vue de la place de la Grue et l'église saint-Jean, Memling Museum, Old St. John's Hospital, Bruges (Brugge) — detail of the central panel, view of Crane's square and the St. John church

Two brothers from the hospital are represented measuring the imported bordeaux wine arriving in Bruges.

This reminds us that the hospital was entrusted by the city around 1300 with a communal charge, the «right to gauge» from which the institution had its income.