Moreel Triptych

The Moreel Triptych (or the Saint Christopher Altarpiece) is the name given to a 1484 panel painting by the Early Netherlandish painter Hans Memling (d. 1494). It was commissioned by the prominent Bruges politician, merchant and banker Willem Moreel (d. 1501) and his wife Barbara van Vlaenderberch, née van Hertsvelde (d. 1499). It was intended as their epitaph at the chapel of the St. James's Church, Bruges, an extension they had paid for.

The inner centre panel of the triptych altarpiece shows Saint Christopher holding the Christ Child, with Saint Maurus to his left and Saint Gills to his right. In the left-hand panel, Willem Moreel kneels in prayer and venerates the saints with their five sons. Barbara kneels with eleven of their daughters on the right panel. The exterior panels are probably an early 16th-century addition, completed after the donor's and artist's deaths.

The triptych was installed on the altar of St. James's Church in 1484. It is in its original frames, which are each inscribed with the words anno Domini 1484, or a variant containing the year, on their lower borders. The altarpiece has a strong association with the Benedictine order; three of the figures are Benedictine monks or saints. It is dedicated to Saint Maurus and St Giles, the latter a Benedictine hermit. Today the work is located in the Groeningemuseum in Bruges.