How to Become Flemish, That is the Question

St. John's Hospital, Bruges, Belgium

Although I love the study of the history of art, my appreciation for medieval art is unfortunately nonexistent. I am not a fan of painted religious subjects. I find both the style and subject matter exhausting and redundant. Yet, medieval art is just as important to the Dutch identity as politics and history have proven significant. I found it interesting, then, that one particular artist, famous for his Flemish paintings, was not from Flanders originally, but arrived in Flanders from Germany. Hans Memling, originally from Germany, painted the Shrine of St. Ursula, the artwork that was the focus of today's visit to St. John's Hospital.

I think it is first important to consider the site of this artwork, St. John's Hospital, a medieval hospital from the 11th century situated in Bruges, Belgium, that is today one of Europe's oldest surviving hospital buildings. The significance of this building to Bruges, Flanders, and Belgium, then, is undeniable. According to history, the hospital grew significantly during the Middle Ages and was the local haven that oversaw the care of sick pilgrims and travelers. Already, as is shown, the hospital had a history in its dealings with foreigners. Because of this historical association with pilgrims and travelers, I do not believe that it is entirely coincidental that the hospital has been turned into the museum that houses the collection of Hans Memling, a German-born Flemish painter, a foreigner in terms of his nationality.

Contemplating the work of Hans Memling along with his nationality and the painting style with which he is associated, I began to formulate further questions regarding the painter's identity. During his life, Hans Memling identified with a very specific painting style that was attributed to Flanders, and as a result he is now considered one of the great Flemish painters, though in reality he was not Flemish by nationality. Furthermore, his work and the museum dedicated to his art is housed in Bruges, in a medieval Flemish church, rather than in his native country of Germany.

I find this issue, that of the reconciliation between national and ethnic identity, to be a recurring one that I have come across throughout this program. When I think of identity, I think of ethnic identity as I find it to be more definite. Yet, ethnic identity possesses its own amalgamation of problems when thinking in terms of time. How long must one reside within a certain place before the national identity becomes an ethnic identity? Will a fifth-generation Black man whose family has resided within France for that duration of time ever be French by ethnic standards? And according to this logic, why was Hans Memling adopted as a Flemish painter if he was not truly Flemish? Or perhaps he was considered truly Flemish because he resided within the region of Flanders?

I thoroughly enjoy these sorts of questions about identity because an answer is never truly available. Yet they do provide a lot to think about in terms of how we define ourselves and how we are defined by others.

 

Sophia