Triptych of Adriaan Reins

This little triptych has barely moved in more than five centuries. Hans Memling painted it in 1480 for Adriaan Reins, a brother at Saint John's Hospital in Bruges, and it still hangs in that same building, which cared for the sick and the poor for hundreds of years. Reins kneels on the left panel, presented by his name-saint Adrian, who holds the anvil and sword of his martyrdom. The centre shows the dead Christ lowered from the cross and mourned by his mother and John. On the right stands Barbara with her tower, a saint the hospital especially favoured. The whole thing is small enough to fold shut, made for one man's private prayer rather than a public altar.