Although born in Germany, Hans Memling spent most of his career working in the Flemish town of Bruges. The triptych of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist (1479) also known as the Mystic Marriage of St Catherine is a wonderful example of his distinct style, which combines Germanic spirituality and gracefulness with the Flemish obsession for rich, naturalistic detail. This image depicts the central panel of the triptych, in which the virgin and child sit under a balcony of honor flanked by two male saints, John the Baptist in a rough garment of camel’s hair and John the Evangelist in a red robe, along with two female saints, Catherine and Barbara. Commissioned for the high altar of the chapel of St John's Hospital in Bruges, the triptych is dedicated to the Virgin and the two St Johns, the patron saints of the hospital. Important scenes from the two male saints’ lives appear in the landscape between the columns as well as in the carved capitals. The altars misidentification as the Mystic Marriage of St Catherine arose from the divine youth’s symbolic placement of a wedding ring on the finger of St Catherine of Alexandria, accompanied by her symbol of martyrdom, a broken wheel. Catherine and Barbara’s inclusion in the scene is probably due to the fact they were often appealed to by those in distress; they also symbolized the meditative and active aspects of the hospital's monastic life. Memling produced an innovative portrayal of a Sacra Conversazione, a grouping of saints surrounding the Virgin, with his symmetrical composition. Typical of his style is the use of oil to create vibrant colors and convincing representation of various textures, as well as his standard figure type with tall, slender bodies and oval, inexpressive faces. This altarpiece is one of his most skilled and famous works. ; 68.3 x 68.4 in (central), 69.3 in x 31.1 in (each wing)