traveldk.com

Hieronymus Bosch (c.1450–1516) is famous for his nightmarish paintings of spiritual anguish, torture and hell. This example is a perplexing insight into the religious psyche of the times.

In 1488, Bruges ill-advisedly imprisoned Maximilian, governor of the Low Countries. This large diptych by Gerard David depicting the gruesome flaying of a corrupt judge was commissioned for the town hall as a sort of public apology.

This classic Symbolist work of 1902 by Fernand Khnopff (1858–1921) includes an image of the Sint-Janshospitaal. The title refers to the play on the word “reflection” in the two images.

This series of panels by the “Master of the Saint Ursula Legend” tells the popular medieval tale of St Ursula and her company of 11,000 virgins, cruelly martyred in pagan Germany.

Willem Moreel, the burgomaster of Bruges, commissioned this work from Hans Memling in 1484. Moreel is depicted in the left-hand panel, his wife in the right.

In the 16th century, Antwerp became the new centre of trade and culture; but Bruges still retained a certain level of prosperity and dignity, as witnessed in this delightful family portrait by Jacob van Oost the Elder.

The supreme masterpiece of the collection was painted in 1436 by Jan van Eyck. The detail is astonishing.

Completed by Hans Memling in 1479, this metre-long reliquary depicts the Legend of St Ursula in 14 exquisitely detailed panels.

Painted by Memling in 1479, this work celebrates the two St Johns, patron saints of the Sint-Janshospitaal.

This smaller work, also displayed in the chapel of the Memlingmuseum, is another painted by Memling in 1479. It is known as the Jan Floreins Triptych after the patron, seen kneeling on the left of the central panel.