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Studio of Joos van Cleve


Studio of Joos van Cleve - Obrazy starých mistrů

(Cleve circa 1485–1540/41 Antwerp)
The Holy Family,
oil on panel, 54 x 36.2 cm, framed

The prototype of this composition by van Cleve, painted around 1525, is now in the Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire (74 x 55.4 cm, oil on panel, fig. 1). Joos van Cleve painted several versions of the subject, all of which have in various stages of art historical analysis either been called autograph or workshop, or workshop with intervention by the master. The version closest to the present studio variant is in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg (oil on panel, 42.5 x 31.5 cm, inv. no. 411, fig. 2).

Depicted in this half-length composition is the Virgin with the upright Christ Child standing on a stone parapet. To the left, and somewhat in the background, is Saint Joseph. The Virgin protects the Child from falling by embracing him with her Mannerist elongated hands. This pose is often referred to in Latin, as Maria Lactans, “the Virgin’s nursing breast”, or “the lactating Virgin”, which was the primary symbol of God’s love for humanity. In the present painting, alterations have been made in the workshop to Joos’ original design: Saint Joseph wears a very different hat but continues to read the text of the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55), he is set back and does not engage with Mary or the Child. This depiction and positioning of Joseph symbolizes his subordinate, albeit contributory, role in the family relationship. The Christ Child is standing on a branch of columbines, symbolising the divine trinity, which can be interpreted as a counterpoint to the scene we witness, the trinitas terrestris, or earthly trinity.

The present painting may have served as the model for two almost identical versions, very close to the present painting, but differing in significant details (see: John Hand, Joos Van Cleve: The Complete Paintings: Painting in Antwerp in the Sixteenth Century, New Haven and London 2004, p. 133, cat. nos. 33.3 and 33.4, and Max Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. IX, part I: Joos Van Cleve, Jan Provost, Joachim Patenier, Leyden 1972, pl. 84, cat. no. 66d).

The subject was very popular. In the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna there is another version of The Holy Family, completed around 1515, with a landscape panorama behind the figure of Joseph. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in its Friedsam Collection, has yet another of Jan van Cleve’s versions of the Holy Family, which was painted around 1513.

Joos van Cleve was one of the most important artists working in Antwerp in the early 16th century. He was probably from Kleve, a city in the lower Rhine region, and first worked in the workshop of Jan Joest (1455/60–1519) in Kalkar. By 1511, Joos settled in Antwerp, where he was a member of the Guild of Saint Luke. His depictions of the Virgin and Child, full of charm and tenderness, were enormously popular in his own time, as well as with later collectors.

Additional image:
Figs. 1–2: Versions of the Holy Family by Joos van Cleve Currier Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Expert: Dr. Alexander Strasoldo Dr. Alexander Strasoldo
+43 1 515 60 403

oldmasters@dorotheum.com

18.10.2016 - 18:00

Odhadní cena:
EUR 120.000,- do EUR 160.000,-

Studio of Joos van Cleve


(Cleve circa 1485–1540/41 Antwerp)
The Holy Family,
oil on panel, 54 x 36.2 cm, framed

The prototype of this composition by van Cleve, painted around 1525, is now in the Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire (74 x 55.4 cm, oil on panel, fig. 1). Joos van Cleve painted several versions of the subject, all of which have in various stages of art historical analysis either been called autograph or workshop, or workshop with intervention by the master. The version closest to the present studio variant is in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg (oil on panel, 42.5 x 31.5 cm, inv. no. 411, fig. 2).

Depicted in this half-length composition is the Virgin with the upright Christ Child standing on a stone parapet. To the left, and somewhat in the background, is Saint Joseph. The Virgin protects the Child from falling by embracing him with her Mannerist elongated hands. This pose is often referred to in Latin, as Maria Lactans, “the Virgin’s nursing breast”, or “the lactating Virgin”, which was the primary symbol of God’s love for humanity. In the present painting, alterations have been made in the workshop to Joos’ original design: Saint Joseph wears a very different hat but continues to read the text of the Magnificat (Luke 1:46–55), he is set back and does not engage with Mary or the Child. This depiction and positioning of Joseph symbolizes his subordinate, albeit contributory, role in the family relationship. The Christ Child is standing on a branch of columbines, symbolising the divine trinity, which can be interpreted as a counterpoint to the scene we witness, the trinitas terrestris, or earthly trinity.

The present painting may have served as the model for two almost identical versions, very close to the present painting, but differing in significant details (see: John Hand, Joos Van Cleve: The Complete Paintings: Painting in Antwerp in the Sixteenth Century, New Haven and London 2004, p. 133, cat. nos. 33.3 and 33.4, and Max Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. IX, part I: Joos Van Cleve, Jan Provost, Joachim Patenier, Leyden 1972, pl. 84, cat. no. 66d).

The subject was very popular. In the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna there is another version of The Holy Family, completed around 1515, with a landscape panorama behind the figure of Joseph. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in its Friedsam Collection, has yet another of Jan van Cleve’s versions of the Holy Family, which was painted around 1513.

Joos van Cleve was one of the most important artists working in Antwerp in the early 16th century. He was probably from Kleve, a city in the lower Rhine region, and first worked in the workshop of Jan Joest (1455/60–1519) in Kalkar. By 1511, Joos settled in Antwerp, where he was a member of the Guild of Saint Luke. His depictions of the Virgin and Child, full of charm and tenderness, were enormously popular in his own time, as well as with later collectors.

Additional image:
Figs. 1–2: Versions of the Holy Family by Joos van Cleve Currier Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire Hermitage, Saint Petersburg

Expert: Dr. Alexander Strasoldo Dr. Alexander Strasoldo
+43 1 515 60 403

oldmasters@dorotheum.com


Horká linka kupujících Po-Pá: 10.00 - 17.00
old.masters@dorotheum.at

+43 1 515 60 403
Aukce: Obrazy starých mistrů
Typ aukce: Salónní aukce
Datum: 18.10.2016 - 18:00
Místo konání aukce: Wien | Palais Dorotheum
Prohlídka: 08.10. - 18.10.2016