La Passion de Turin : un séjour de Memling à la cour de Savoie en 1476 ?

The Passion in Turin : Hans Mending’s sojourning at the Court of Savoy ? Hans Memling’s painting The Passion, presently in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin, has, since the middle of the 19th century, been thought to have been painted at the request of the Florentin banker Tommaso Portinari ca. 1470-71. In 1843, Passavant, an expert in Flemish painting, suggested the comparison of The Passion with a small painting in the Portinari chapel in Santa Maria Nuova, which is mentioned by Vasari as being part of the Medici collection. This comparison was supported by the majority of specialists in the field. However, it is interesting to note that Weale finds Passavant’s proposition unacceptable and feels that it does not fit correctly within the evolution of Memling’s works. The Passion appears to be linked to folio 210 of the Saluce Hours, is it possible that it never left the Piedmonte and is the product of a sojourn by Hans Memling at the court of Savoy ? This hypothesis is supported by comparisons with the portrait of Jacques de Savoie (most certainly painted by Memling ca. 1476) and the diptych panels in New York and Rotterdam which are very evidently related to The Passion, the left panel of which originated in Turin.