ACQUIRED BY THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART OF NEW YORK - U.S.A - SAINT PHILIP
SAINT PHILIP
Alabaster, with traces of gilding and polychromy
Made in Meuse Valley, France or Netherlands
Mid XV th Century
Dimensions : Overall (with base): 16 1/8 x 5 7/8 x 3 11/16 in. (41 x 15 x 9.4 cm)
Figure only: 13 1/8 x 5 7/8 x 3 11/16 in. (33.4 x 14.9 x 9.4 cm)
Base: 2 7/8 x 5 5/8 x 3 1/4in. (7.3 x 14.3 x 8.3cm)
PROVENANCE : Robert Lehman Collection
MAITRE H.L.
ACQUIRED BY THE MUSÉE DU LOUVRE - PARIS - FRANCE - MASTER H.L - VIRGIN AND CHILD
MASTER H.L VIRGIN AND CHILD
Master H.L. and his Workshop
Painted Limewood Group of the Virgin and Child
Circa 1520-1530
H. 152 cm
Provenance : Ancienne Collection Claer, Mulhouse
JAN CROCQ
ACQUIRED BY THE MUSÉE NATIONAL DU MOYEN ÂGE ( PARIS ) - JAN CROCQ (active 1486-1510) - SAINT JAMES THE MINOR
Polychrome limestone
Lorraine
Late 15th Century
H. 42 cm
Flemish sculptor from Antwerp or Bruges, Jan Crocq probably settled in Lorraine around 1486-1487 where he worked for Duke Rene II between Nancy and Bar-le-Duc. He participated in the decoration of the Ducal Palace in Nancy including the library, and was commissioned by the Duke to make the Tomb of Charles the Bold in the church of Saint-Georges de Nancy (executed in 1506-1507 and destroyed in 1742) . Forerunner of the art of the Renaissance in Lorraine, Jan Crocq played a leading role and strongly influenced the artists of the time, in whom we find stylistic elements of Flemish origin.
Crocq's work is poorly documented and his productions are extremely rare. The Saint Catherine of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Coronation of the Virgin at the Musée National du Moyen Âge in Paris, the Saint Jean held at the Lorrain Museum in Nancy, The Virgin of the Litany of the Church of Notre- Lady of Bar-le-Duc, and the Saint Adrien and Saint Roch of the collegiate Saint-Etienne of Bar-le-Duc.
Standing, slightly swayed, our Saint James the Minor wears a robe and a cloak which give it an imposing appearance; the size of the dress with the powerful and wide pleats increases this impression of strong presence. With his head turned to the right, the apostle, with a firm right hand, holds open the book of his Gospel, which is here associated with his confessor status. Finally, in the left hand, he holds the staff, the instrument of his martyrdom.
Exceptional in its monumentality and graphic precision, this statue is similar in style to all the works attributed to it in public collections.
In all his sculptures, Jan Crocq, who probably used the same model for his male characters, hardly represents personalities but rather an archetypal face that he systematically repeats with slight variations in the details. The resemblance of the apostle's face to that of Emperor Maximus in the Saint Catherine's group at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is striking: the sculptor paid the same attention to the execution of anatomical details as the exaggeratedly pointed chin.
It can also be noted that, as in all his figures, the stern and striking face of the apostle is framed by the graphical and exaggerated ripples of the beard and the hair, contrasting with the same precision and the same fineness to the modeling of the features. Beyond the conventional aspect, the technical mastery of the sculptor is here prodigious.
The discovery of this unrecorded sculpture by Mathieu Sismann and its attribution by Gabriela Sismann in 2007 bring an additional testimony of the work of this sculptor in the service of the Duke of Lorraine specialized in religious commands.
ACQUIRED BY THE MUSÉE DES BEAUX ARTS DE STRASBOURG - SAINTS ANTHONY AND MARGARET
THE SAINTS ANTHONY AND MARGARET
Polychromed and gilded limewood reliefs
Souabia
Late 15 th Century
Saint Anthony: H. 89.5 cm; D. 3 cm; W. 25.5 cm
Saint Margaret: H. 91 cm; D. 3 cm; W. 25 cm
The size and flat back of these important polychrome and gilded reliefs suggest an original placement in an altarpiece, pressed against two wing-panels. It was usual in late German Gothic sculpture to gather locally venerated male and female saints around the Virgin, chosen for their popularity or in relation to the donor’s devotion. The drapery style and facial type of these figures mark them as the work of a Swabian workshop at the end of the 15 th Century. Carved from a single board of wood, as traditionally in Swabia, Anthony and Margaret are nominated by their attributes, the pig and the dragon. The decorative elements and stylistic criteria derive from the Ulmish school, founded by Michel Erhart (active in Ulm around 1469-1522): The characteristic plaited drapery around the waist of Sainte Margaret, the sweet faces pigmented with pink carnations and the polychromy’s refinement are reminiscent of his work. However, the small figures placed at the feet, and finally the little anecdotal details recall the contemporary works under the influence of the Niklaus Weckmann the Elder (cited in Ulm around 1481-1526). Both faces combine elements defined by the sculptor, as the youthful face and wavy heavy locks in the Virgin of the Nativity panel at the Petit Palais in Paris. These Saint Anthony and Saint Margaret reliefs are to be considered as productions from Ulmish workshops of the early sixteenth Century, who maintain a traditional style in the sphere of influence of the great masters. It should be noted how remarkably preserved these polychromed flap reliefs are.
ACQUIRED BY THE PALAIS DES BEAUX ARTS DE LILLE - FRANCE
BUST OF A CROWNED SAINT
Polychrome and Gilt Limewood
Nördlingen, Swabia
Circa 1500-1510
H. 40 cm ; W. 39 cm ; D. 0,19cm
JOHANN GEORG ESSER
ACQUIRED BY THE MUNICH RESIDENCE MUSEUM - JOHANN GEORG ESSER (1652 - 1727) - MODELLO FOR A DECORATIVE FIGURE OF A PRINCLEY FURNITURE AT THE MUNICH RESIDENCE
ATLANTA
Terracotta
Augsbourg
1680-1685
H. 23 cm ; W. 19 cm ; D. 12 cm
ACQUIRED BY FONDATION GANDUR POUR L'ART, GENEVE - IMPORTANT MEDIEVAL FIGURE FROM THE MEDIEVAL LORRAIN SCHOOL
APOSTLE
Limestone with traces of polychromy and gilt
Lorraine 1330 -1340
H. 90 cm
BENEDETTO BRIOSCO
ACQUIRED BY THE ALANA COLLECTION, Newark, Delaware, USA - BENEDETTO BRIOSCO ( 1460 - 1517 ) - PORTRAIT OF LUDOVICO IL MORO
BENEDETTO BRIOSCO ( 1460 - 1517 )
PORTRAIT OF LUDOVICO IL MORO
White marble high-relief medallion
Lombardy
Circa 1500
Diam. 55 cm
ACQUIRED BY THE PALAIS FESCH - Musée des Beaux-Arts ( Ajaccio ) - THE DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS
THE DEPOSITION FROM THE CROSS
Painting on slate (with it's box)
Roman School Escuela Romana
Inicios del siglo 17
44 cm x 56 cm x 5 cm
Provenance : Fesch Collection
Domenico Guidi
ACQUIRED BY A FOREIGN PRIVATE COLLECTION - DOMENICO GUIDI (1625-1701) - CRISTO VIVO
CRISTO VIVO
Gilt bronze
Rome
End of the 17 th
Century H. 56 cm
The author of this Cristo vivo, in perfect state of preservation and uniformly covered with an exceptional gilding, is Domenico Guidi (1625-1701), one of the main protagonists of the Roman sculpture of the second half of the 17th century (glued to figure and exponent) century with L'Algarde (1598-1654) and Bernini (1598-1680). Born in Carrara, Guidi organized his own workshop in Rome after working with L'Algarde. He surrounded himself with a team of craftsmen, thanks to whom he worked as fast as his competitors. Thus, Guidi was at the origin of a very large production, destined not only to Rome and the rest of Italy but also to Germany, France and Malta.
He was the main person in charge of the change from the high Roman Baroque to the new language of the late Baroque, an evolution well illustrated by his great relief of the Monte di Pietà chapel in Rome, circa 1670. Neutralizing the dramatic language, relaxing tensions, Domenico Guidi brought a powerful dynamism to the Roman art of the second half of the 17th century.
The discovery of this sculpture by Gabriela and Mathieu Sismann aroused the interest of the Historian Tomaso Montanari who published it in a study in 2009.
Bringing a testimony of the highest interest on the work of Domenico Guidi, this bronze is today the main Cristo Vivo by the artist on the art market.
ANONYMOUS FRENCH ARTIST
DONATION TO THE MUSÉE NATIONAL DE LA RENAISSANCE - ECOUEN - FRANCE - Esau selling his birthright to Jacob or "The Lentil Stew"
ESAU SELLING HIS BIRTHRIGHT TO JACOB OR THE " LENTIL STEW "
Silk embroidery
France, Paris ?
First third of the 17th century
H. 18.5 cm ; W. 23 cm
Despite the richness of the textile fund of the National Museum of the Renaissance, rare are the embroidered pieces of preserved historical scenes. In addition to the corporal adorned with a Lamentation on the Dead Christ close to the art of Jean Cousin the father (E.C. 13224), the oval medallion depicting Adoration of the Golden Calf (E.Cl. 1488) and the green embroidered taffeta piece of Parnassus (E.C. 13046), the National Museum of the Renaissance preserves few fabrics entirely covered with embroidery.
The scene represents a passage from Genesis (XXV, 29-34) concerning the twins of Isaac and Rebekah during which Esau, exhausted from the fields, agreed to sell his birthright to his brother Jacob for a dish. of lentils. This excerpt from the Old Testament was frequently produced by painters in the 16th and 17th centuries. Two other scenes from the story of Jacob and Esau adorn the chimneys of the Connétable apartment at the Château d'Ecouen. Its moral significance has also made it a favorite scene in the decorative arts, particularly in the textile field.
The technical implementation is remarkable: applied on a cream taffeta, the stitch of embroidery (flat past and encroaching past) commonly referred to as the "needle painting" is here perfectly mastered. On the reverse, the remains of paper also testify to the technique, because the embroiderers often reinforced the fabric with stiff paper to make it more resistant to the passage of needles.
Visibly too big to come from a liturgical garment, this embroidered fragment could be part of an altar decoration (antependium), a religious ceremony (canopy, wall hanging), a piece of furniture or a secular whole. Although different in its composition, the engraving on the same subject in the illustrated Latin Bible of Théodore de Bry (1627) shows characters wearing the same type of clothing, the same hats and wearing very similar flexible attitudes. The model of the embroiderer is probably to look in the entourage of this engraver.
This donation enriches the typology of embroidery of the fonds, as well as the knowledge of the technique of "needle painting" carried to its highest degree of excellence at the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century.
PIERRE JULIEN
ACQUIRED BY A PRIVATE FOREIGN COLLECTION - FRANCE - PIERRE JULIEN ( 1731 - 1796 ) - ORIGINAL TERRACOTTA FIGURE OF HYGIE
Terracotta
Circa 1791 - 1796
France
H. 71 cm
In Greek mythology, Hygie is the daughter of Asklepios (god of medicine) and Epione. Goddess of health, healing, cleanliness and hygiene, Hygie is personified since Antiquity by a woman crowned with laurels and holding a scepter in the hand that designates her as queen of medicine. From his shoulder or his arm, a snake, to whom remedies were attributed, advances to drink in a cup which it holds in his left hand. This "Cup of Hygie" is still used as a symbol of pharmacy in the contemporary world.
This figure in terracotta is in the hand of Pierre Julien (1731-1804), major sculptor of the second half of the eighteenth century.
A pupil of William II Coustou, Julien leads an exceptional career that begins with his reception at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1779, thanks to his Gladiator Mourant (Paris, Louvre Museum) and which is marked by the prestigious commission of the decor of the "Dairy" Queen Marie Antoinette Rambouillet (1785-1787). He became a sculptor appointed by the King and his work is characterized by a very personal interpretation of Antiquity.
It is during one of his stays in Puy-en-Velay, he is indeed from this region, that Pierre Julien model around 1791-1796 small figures in raw lands. Local amateurs show their interest in his works, usually in plaster or mock-ups. It was in 1796 that Julien made among other works a model of the goddess Hygie, preparation for a marble statue for his Parisian doctor. We also know that Colonel Boudinon received in 1805 a plaster representing Hygie, as well as the model of the latter. Another statue of Hygie is mentioned elsewhere in the inventory after the death of the artist on January 28, 1805.
Considered as lost to this day, our Hygie now localized, comes complete with the two tinted plasters preserved at the Crozatier Museum of Puy-en-Velay, the work of reflection of Julien around this subject. Mixing sensuality and nervousness, the elegant, soft and poetic vision of this Hygie is associated with a great technical virtuosity that makes Pierre Julien one of the great masters of French neoclassicism of the late eighteenth century.
TERILLI FRANCESCO
ACQUIRED BY A PRIVATE FOREIGN COLLECTION - FRANCESCO TERILLI ( ACTIVE BETWEEN 1596 AND 1633/5) - EXCEPTIONAL SIGNED PAIR OF IVORY FIGURES OF MARY AND SAINT JOHN
FRANCESCO TERILLI ( ACTIVE BETWEEN 1596 AND 1633/5)
EXCEPTIONAL SIGNED PAIR OF IVORY FIGURES OF MARY AND SAINT JOHN
Northern Italy
Circa 1600
H. 18 cm ; H. 18 cm
Native from Feltro in Veneto, Francesco Terilli (known between 1596 and 1633 to 1635 ) was a versatile sculptor of the early Baroque period working wood, bronze and earth. Particularly active in Feltre as in Venice, some of his productions can be seen in the Basilica of San Giovanni and San Paolo and the Chiesa Redentore, on the Island of Giudecca. The treatment of Terilli's figures are characterized by the sculptor's search of contrast between technical sophistication and deep expressiveness.
There are a very limited number of ivory statuettes signed by Terilli or that can be assigned to him unambiguously such as the two Crucified Christs at the Museo Civico of Feltre and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (No. Inv. S28S2), and the Scourged Christ kept at the Musée du Louvre ( Inv. N° OA3917), all dated towards 1600. Luckily, Francesco Terilli monogrammed some of his ivories "FTF" or "FFF", a common practice in Germanic countries. No such practice occurs in Italy, which partly explains the lack of knowledge of Italian ivories from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Our two figures, Mary and Saint John, each have a monogram stamped under their base. Saint John is accompanied by the monogram "FFF" ( Francisco Feltrensis Fecit ) and Mary is accompanied by the monogram "FTF" ( Francisco Terilli Fecit ). They belong to the same typology as the pair signed by Francesco Terilli kept at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna ( Inv. N° KK - 4534 and KK - 4536), as our figures share the same quality of execution, plastic density, scale forms and softness of the features. They differ only in a few minor variations.
The scarcity of existing signed works by Francesco Terilli make the discovery of this pair of ivories all the more important due to its historical and artistic interest.
ACQUIRED BY THE KATOEN NATIE ART FOUNDATION - ANTWERPEN - NETHERLANDS
MEMENTO MORI
Eastern
France
Sandstone
17 th Century
H. 105 cm
This Allegory of Death is part of the tradition of the "Medieval Death Dances" of the late fifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century, where the main idea is that of "Memento Mori" (Remember that you will die), omnipresent in the piety of the time. The skeleton, or transi, is widespread in the Lorraine tradition of the Renaissance, embodied by Ligier Richier, and in the Germanic culture, as seen in the famous compositions of Hans Baldung Grien and Albrecht Dürer.
In France, the German influence of this theme, extensively treated in the funerary monuments of the Renaissance, notably by Hans Schenck (c.1500-1566), extends across Lorraine and Haute-Marne: the most important work famous being Richier's Transi in St. Stephen's Church in Bar-le-Duc.
The place of this Allegory in the context of the tomb remains difficult to define; Be that as it may, the figure standing, wrapped in a drapery, seems to be connected with the type of the funerary monument, probably with the effigy of the deceased or an epitaph.
Since the Middle Ages, the Triumph of Death has reflected religious meditations on the nothingness of earthly life and its inevitable brevity. Here, the skeleton participates in the great ceremonial of the death of the baroque age: the time that brings the human being closer and closer is evoked by the hourglass tight in the left hand which perfectly expresses the passage of time. Consistent with this staging, the drape fulfills the function of a theater curtain opening on the spectacle of death.
GUGLIEMO DELLA PORTA
ACQUIRED BY A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION - GUGLIEMO DELLA PORTA ( 1500 - 1577 ) - CHRIST CRUCIFIED
GUGLIEMO DELLA PORTA ( 1500 - 1577 )
CHRIST CRUCIFIED
Rome
Gilt bronze
Between 1569 and 1577
H. 42cm
The design of this important figure of Christ crucified is inspired by Christ
Michelangelo's Redeemer at Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome. The attribution to
Guglielmo della Porta is based on the study of the master's drawings.
It is attested that the artist has produced a series of crucifixes with variants intended
to be marketed. These bronzes were the subject of gifts but also Nobilia Ires
and clerical.
Our important figure of Cristo Morto is a variant of the different
models that Guglielmo della Porta has developed throughout his career. In a font
exceptional quality, with a remarkable goldsmith workmanship, the work
of Christ on the Cross is similar to the copy kept at the Archaeological Museum
National Madrid.
ACQUIRED BY COLLECTION LAMBERT EN AVIGNON - KNEELING DONOR
KNEELING DONOR
Limestone with traces of polychromy
Burgundy
Mid 15th Century
H. 24.5 cm
PRIVATE COLLECTION - U.S.A - FORMER YVES SAINT LAURENT AND PIERRE BERGE COLLECTION FROM THE CHÂTEAU GABRIEL
PAIRE OF CARYATIDES
Polychrome walnut
Venice Mid 16 th Century
H. 204 cm
These caryatids have been designed to fit into an interior design for the unique purpose of decorating the room.
Represented by three quarters, wrapped in drapes and accompanied by garlands of flowers and fruit, both figures lift their arms asymmetrically. Their attitude has been designed according to a common vision and a common point of view, showing that they were intended to remain detached . This makes an assumption of a destination for a single structure likely because their small bases have limited surfaces and make it necessary to fix them on a wall due to balance issues.
Our pair of caryatids truly marks the transition from Mannerism to the Baroque : built on a pattern of contortion and Michelangelesque monumentality, the theatrical mise en scène imposes itself spectacularly.
The Moorish features and the style of these sculptures take us to Venice, a city where sculptors and craftsmen specialized in these great achievements brought to life by a generation working around the fantastic and prolific Andrea Brustolon (1662-1732). The spectacular Altar of souls (1685) in the church of San Floriano in the municipality of Pieve di Zoldo, is a reference in the matter .
In a general way, and in particular the proportions of the bodies, these two caryatids are comparable to the famous caryatids in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco (1665-1670) and those of Pietro Morando (1662-1672) in the church of San Pietro Martire in Murano. It is also possible to connect them to the typology of the telamons developed by Giacomo Piazzetta (1640-1705) in the Chapel of the Rosary in San Giovanni e Paolo, dated from the 1680s , or his Telamons at the Ca'd'Oro, whose arrangement of the drapery are reflected in ours.
However, the softer contours of the body, the use of gilding and ornamental vocabulary combining geometric and plant motifs, allow earlier dating to the years 1630-1650, a period in which we find these features on the site of the parish church of San Pietro Martire. Another comparison of interest is a frame from Murano carved in 1634 by Francesco Mezzanotte, and now visible in the Old Sacristy of Santa Maria della Salute, in which we can recognize the same scrolls and garlands of fruit and flowers than in our caryatids.
A second frame decorated with a pair of figures comparable to ours, exhibited at the Civic Museum of Padua, shows these same similarities as well as the extravagance of the attitudes and the combination of dark wood and gilding .
PIETRO AND GIOVANNI ALAMANNO
ACQUIRED BY LA FONDATION GANDUR POUR L'ART, GENEVE - VIRGIN MARY KNEELING IN ADORATION
Wood figure
Naples
End of the 15th Century
H. 120 cm; W: 80 cm ; D. 76 cm
F. ROUCOURT
ACQUIRED BY THE MUSÉE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS DE NAMUR - ALLEGORY OF CHARITY
Patinated terracotta
Signed and dated at the back : 1794/Roucourt
H. 87 cm, Diam. 53 cm
ACQUIRED BY THE MUSEE NATIONAL DE LA RENAISSANCE - ECOUEN - FRANCE - Nouailher Colin (active 1539 - known until 1567) - Pair of enamel plaques depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ
Nouailher Colin (active 1539 - known until 1567)
Pair of enamel plaques depicting scenes from the Passion of Christ
Limoges
Mid 16th century
H. 17 cm ; L. 13.2 cm
These two plates of the same technique and similar dimensions show scenes described in French by inscriptions in black at the base of each plate allowing their reading: The first plate represents The Flagellation "Jesus flogged in the house of Pilate" and the other Ecce Homo "Jesus crowned and flogged". The Roman soldiers who surround Christ are dressed in the Renaissance fashion and are represented in full motion, probably from a series of engravings illustrating the Passion of Christ.
The fashion style, the expression of the faces and the composition with the text included in the plate are similar to other works of Colin Nouailher (active 1539-1574) in particular of the series of plates of the Louvre Museum (Inv. 2617 and OA 966).
The two plates probably belonged to an altarpiece composed of enamels like those which can be seen at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore.
CLAUS DE WERVE
ACQUIRED BY A PRIVATE FOREIGN COLLECTION - CLAUS DE WERVE ( 1380- ca.1439 ) - SAINT PETER
CLAUS DE WERVE ( 1380 - ca.1439 )
SAINT PETER
Limestone
Early 15th Century
H. 47 cm