The Portinari were members of the large Italian mercantile community in Bruges, where Tommaso managed a branch of the Medici bank from 1465 to 1480. Among his duties, he made extensive loans to the Dukes of Burgundy that helped fund their military campaigns. Commissioned from Hans Memling, the portraits of Tommaso and his wife Maria reflect the admiration of Italian patrons for Netherlandish art, especially works of such devotional character.
Tommaso di Folco Portinari
tempera on wood • 44.1 x 33.7 cm
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Hans Memling