How does Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation (Memling) elucidate its Question of iconography?
The iconographic program of Earthly Vanity and Divine Salvation is complex, although not impenetrably so, hence the title given to the work. The proponents of the theory that a fourth recto-verso panel is missing suggest that it could have shown the Virgin Mary (responding to her son depicted as a Salvator Mundi but also with attributes of a Christ in Majesty, such as the crown) on one side, and Adam on the other (responding to Eve, depicted as the allegorical figure of Vanity). The purposes of Death, Hell, Memento mori, and the coat of arms, are quite clear, although their position is not. Vanity (which may also represent Luxuria) and Death share aesthetic and thematic parallels, not least in the very prominent genital area, a fact that has prompted the tenants of the triptych hypothesis to dismiss the idea that Vanity/Luxuria should have been paired with another painting instead. On the other hand, the probable pairing of Christ with Hell is theologically untenable; as in Memling’s own Last Judgment, depictions of Hell are generally paired with depictions of Heaven.Satan's face on the belly (Bauchgesicht) has been noticed by art historians, as has Vanity's/Luxuria's eroticism.
Bauchgesicht Christ in Majesty Last Judgment Hell coat of arms Death iconographic the Virgin Mary Heaven Vanity theological Eve allegorical figure Satan recto-verso triptych Salvator Mundi Luxuria Adam Memento mori