Leonard Bramer

Private Collection, France

Panel is flat and stable and beveled on top and bottom. Three horizontal battens are affixed to the verso of the panel. Two vertical joins are visible and are each reinforced on the verso with a vertical strip of wood that has been inset into the panel. Additional wooden strips have been inset at extreme left and right edges. Overall, the picture presents a dramatic image with nice retention of coloration and some impastos in the figure kneeling in the foreground. There are some thinnesses, for example, in the upper portion of the background, in the crucifix, and in the white drapery slung over the crucifix. U.V. reveals retouching along the panel joins from top to bottom, retouches throughout in the background, to areas around and including the crucifix, in the foliage at bottom left of panel and in some of the drapery. These retouches appear to have been made (for the most part) to address some of the thinnesses, and, in the case of the retouches in the pinkish drapery of the woman at right, are made along the wood grain. U.v. also reveals retouches from top to bottom along extreme right and left edges, which corresponds to abovementioned inset strips. There may be some additional retouches, which the varnish renders impossible to see under u.v. All aforementioned retouches have been applied well, and picture may be hung in its present state. In a carved and black-painted wood frame.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This dramatic rendition of the Descent from the Cross is one of numerous versions of the subject by Leonard Bramer, and (based on measurements) may be identified as that which was last recorded in the August 30, 1742, sale of the collection of Jan de Gise, Bonn, Germany (lot 23).¹

This Descent from the Cross shows the influence that the work of Rembrandt had on Bramer's oeuvre.  As Rembrandt does in his own painting and etching of this subject, Bramer has here placed his cross on a diagonal, creating a more dynamic composition.  Also, like Rembrandt, Bramer shows a man leaning over the top of the cross to support Christ's body, and finally, as Rembrandt does, he includes an onlooker standing off to the side wearing a large turban. 

1.  See, J. Ten Brink Goldsmith, P. Huys Janssen, M. Kersten, M. Plomp, and A. Quarles Van Ufford, Leonard Bramer 1596-1674: Ingenious Painter and Draughtsman in Rome and Delft,  exhibition catalogue, Zwolle 1994, p. 292, no. 150.  In this source, the picture is listed as lot 110, this however, does not appear to be accurate, as the 1742 sale catalogue lists the picture is under lot 23.