(Antwerp circa 1485–1551 Bruges)
Virgin and Child with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux,
oil on panel, 55.5 x 45 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private collection, San Sebastian, until 1947;
Collection of Maria Esclasans (1875–1947), Barcelona;
thence by descent within the family;
where recently acquired by the present owner

Literature:
A. Velasco Gonzales, L'antiquària Maria Esclasans (1875–1947) i el comerç d'art antic a Barcelona in: B. Bassegoda, I Domènech (eds.), Agents del mercat artístic i col·leccionistes. Nous estudis sobre el patrimoni artístic de Catalunya als segles XIX i XX, Barcelona 2017, pp. 216–217, fig. 17

We are grateful to Till-Holger Borchert for confirming the attribution after examining the present painting in the original and for his assistance in cataloguing this lot.

The present work is a refined and highly detailed example of Early Netherlandish painting, most likely created in Bruges during the final two decades of the artist’s career, probably for the Iberian market. The composition particularly relates to a comparable work by the master, which depicts the Virgin and Child in a niche, conserved in the Museo Lázaro Galdiano in Madrid (see M. J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, Leiden 1974, vol. XI, p. 87, no. 174a, plate 132). Having collaborated with the prominent Bruges painter Gérard David and his workshop, as well as with Ambrosius Benson, Isenbrant regularly drew upon David’s designs for his own compositions, as is evidenced by the figures of the Virgin and Child in the present work, who relate to those in David’s Rest on the Flight into Egypt, conserved in the Prado, Madrid (inv. no. P002643). Isenbrant probably had access to workshop drawings by David or copies thereof which probably were perforated to allow an easy transfer, as Isenbrant’s figures are seen in reverse compared to those by David in the Prado.

On the Virgin’s right, kneels Bernard de Fontaine (circa 1090–1153), known as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Born into a noble family in Burgundy, Bernard joined the Cistercian order after the death of his mother and is widely known as the founder of the Abbey after which the saint is named. A staunch defender of the Crusades, Bernard played a key role in the spread of the Cistercian order across Europe, bringing it to the forefront of religious influence. Bernard of Clairvaux was canonised in 1174 by Pope Alexander III.

Adriaen Isenbrant registered as a free master in the Bruges Guild of painters in November 1510, for which he served nine times as deacon and twice as governor of the Guild. He worked on commission and also produced works for the nascent art markets in Bruges and Antwerp, working for agents who exported his works. In 1520, the City of Bruges commissioned him alongside leading artists in the town to paint the decorations for the triumphal entry of Charles V. Isenbrant ran a productive workshop, and his paintings recall works by Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling and Gérard David, as well as Jan Gossaert and Albrecht Dürer. With David, he was among the first painters in Bruges who used the Leonardesque sfumato for faces and flesh parts, as evident in the present work which also show the typical warm colours preferred by the master.

Technical analysis by Gianluca Poldi

The support is an oak panel, 1cm maximum thickness, later painted with a dark pigment on the back. It was thinned at the verso along all the four sides, probably since the beginning, to be inserted in its frame, coherently with the unpainted edges at the recto, indicating the painting still preserves its original size.

The underlying drawing revealed by IR reflectography is noteworthy: it is not the result of tracing but is done freehand with a black chalk, tracing the contours and in various cases – as in the hands – correcting them in search of the best shape. The outline underdrawing is followed by hatching, to study and place the shadows. The direction of the hatching is typical of a right-handed painter. A necklace (probably a rosary), just sketched, was slipped into the saint’s right wrist, but was not painted. The elaborate drawing that can be found under the figures becomes simpler, linear, under the architecture, and is limited to the incisions in the floor tiles placed in perspective, while it disappears under the landscape, most likely executed directly in painting.

Non-invasive pigment analyses, carried out by means of reflectance spectroscopy, allowed to detect azurite – mixed with lead white – in the sky and in the bluish landscape towards the horizon, progressively changing to verdigris (copper acetate) coming closer to the figures, in the trees and meadows, where a flock of sheep grazes, painted with the tip of the brush like a miniature, watched over by a shepherd who leans against the trunk of the tree.

A coccid-derived red lake is used in the Virgin’s cloak, while vermillion is mixed with lead white to create the flesh tones, according to tradition. Both these kinds of red are present in the floor tiles. The painter’s skills in making small details realistic are particularly evident in the architecture, with their sculpted elements, including a prophet (top left), highlighted with lead-tin yellow and lead white over the brown underlayers. In addition to the simulation, in these areas, of the golden reflections of light, the painter uses gold itself, shell gold, to create the rich halos of the three figures.