Studio of The Master of Frankfurt

Professor Noyons-Schmutzer (according to an inscription on the reverse);
With Otto Burchard, Berlin, by 1920;
With Van Diemen & Co, Berlin, circa 1925;
In the family of the present owners since 1958.

M.J. Friedländer, 'Der Meister von Frankfurt', in Jahrbuch der Königlich Preuszischen Kunstsammlungen, 38, 1917, pp. 135-50, possibly mentioned on p. 150, under 'Nachtrag zu Nr. 16';
J. Bialowstocki, Les Primitifs Flamand I, Corpus de la Peinture des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux, les musées des Pologne, Brussels 1966, p. 127;
M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. VII, Leiden/Brussels 1971, p. 78, cat. no. 147c, reproduced plate 110;
S.H. Goddard, The Master of Frankfurt and his shop, Ann Arbor [dissertation], Michigan 1983, p. 354, cat. no. 35, reproduced p. 476, fig. 65;
S.H. Goddard, 'The Master of Frankfurt and his shop', in Mededelingen van de Koninklijke Academie voor Wetenschappen, Letteren en Schone Kunsten van België, 46, 1984, no. 38, p. 139, no. 35, as workshop of the Master of Frankfurt, ca. 1510-1515.

The catalogue illustration is representative for the actual painting. The single panel is flat and stable. No damages seem to be apparent and the paint layer is in excellent condition. Particularly the brushwork in the draperies is wonderfully preserved. A few very small retouchings can be observed in the tree and castle upper right, in the Virgin's nose and chest, in the Child's shoulder and chest, in the brown drapery upper right, and in the red drapery lower left. The paint surface is covered with a slightly dirty layer of varnish. Inspection under Ultra-Violet light confirms the aforementioned retouchings, and reveals a very thin vertical retouched split of approx. 3 cm. running along the lower edge, and minor strengthening in the tendril pattern of the green drapery. Offered in a later plain black painted wood frame with gilt fillets, in good condition. (MW)
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Master of Frankfurt takes his name from two important altarpieces produced for, and still in, Frankfurt am Main; the Altarpiece of the Holy Kinship in the Historisches Museum and the Crucifixion Triptych, now in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut.¹ Most recently he has been tentatively identified as Hendrik van Wueluwe.² One of his earliest works attributed, a self-portrait with his wife, is dated 1496 and bears the coat-of-arms of the Antwerp guild of Saint Luke with the device 'wt jonsten versaemt' (united in friendship), of the Antwerp chamber of rhetoric called the 'Violieren' (Violets).³ It reveals that he led one of the most important Antwerp workshops at the end of the fifteenth century.

The present painting relates to a painting with the Virgin seated in a landscape, now in the Kunsthalle in Karlsruhe, Germany.⁴ Dated by Goddard to around 1509, it is probably the prototype for a design which is known in four other versions, including the present panel.⁵ The other versions are now in the Accademia Carrara, one with Kunsthandel P. de Boer by 1964 and one in the collection of Percy B. Tubbs in London, by 1954. As it closely follows the Karlsruhe panel this picture can be attributed to an assistant in the studio of the Master of Frankfurt; there are minor weaker differences in the handling of the canopy and the landscape. Interestingly enough, this workshop version handles the biblical story after the Nativity; on the left we see Mary presenting the newborn Christ Child to the Angels and on the right she presents him to the three Magi. The Karlsruhe panel shows the Annunciation on the left and the Flight to Egypt on the right.

1. See Goddard, 1984, under Literature, p. 147, no. 67 and p. 157, no. 101.
2. Goddard, op. cit., p. 106, for a further discussion.
3. idem, p. 129, no. 2.
4. idem, p. 139, no. 33, reproduced fig. 30.
5. See Friedländer, 1971, under Literature, p. 78.