North Netherlandish School, circa 1500

Said to be from the Abbey at Cysoing, near Lille;
Baron Decker;
Baron Descamps, Brussels, 1952;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

J. Lavalleye, Juste de Gand, Louvain 1936;
M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. V, Leiden 1969, pp. 89-90, reproduced plate 109 (with incorrect measurements).

The following condition report is provided by Rebecca Gregg who is an external expert and not an employee of Sotheby's. The three member panel appears stable. The right join has re-opened along its entire length; however there is no evidence of recent movement. The left join has re-opened along the upper portion, with 39cm running the length of Our Lady to the lower edge still intact. On examining the front of the panel there was no evidence of further splits, although there is a small area of movement in the lower left corner. The paint layers appear in very good condition. There are small losses and scuff marks located at the top edge of the right join and in the upper left quadrant. Apart from which the adhesion between the paint and ground layers and the support appears good. The predominantly thinly applied original paint reveals areas of pentmenti around the figures, while the relatively thickly applied glazes of the Virgin's robe and the figures in the brocade gowns are strongly impastoed. There are isolated areas of slightly raised fine craqulure; these are located primarily in the areas of light green paint. These are stable with no evidence of flaking. There appears to have been at least two campaigns of restoration present. There are small areas of relatively recent retouching present along the right join, on the face of the figure in the red tights on the far right and in the figure in the gold brocade and Our Lady's left eye. There are a series of losses scattered throughout that have been re-painted or toned without filling, these are primarily located along the lower edge, to the right of Our Lady and in the figure with the brocade gown to the right of the cross. There is an uneven varnish layer present, relatively thickly applied in the lower corners and across scattered elements of the composition. In ultra violet light the surface appears patchily cleaned. There are a series of drips across the surface, some of which are in the varnish layer itself and a layer of surface dirt and fly spotting.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This picture bore an old but inexplicable attribution to Joost van Ghent, and even found its way into Lavalleye's monograph as an autograph work.  Friedländer grouped it under works by followers of Geertgen tot Sint Jans and other Dutch works from the last decades of the 15th Century.

Though certainly North Netherlandish, it probably derives, like many similar works, from a prototype by Dirk Bouts.  In style it resembles works traditionally attributed to the Master of the Tiburtine Sibyl, while the handling of some parts, especially the female figures to the left, is more reminiscent of The Master of the Virgo Inter Virgines.  The sparse, almost unfinished landscape setting is reminiscent of the latter Master's Entombment in the Saint Louis City Art Museum.¹  The closest parallel in composition and style is with a Crucifixion in Detroit long considered a core work by the Tiburtine Sibyl Master.²  It is however perhaps closer in style and figural types to works given to a hand known as the Master of the Saint John Panels (or Master of the Saint John Altarpiece) after two eponymous panels in Rotterdam.³  In particular this work is close to this Master's  Entombment of Christ in Budapest.⁴  These are however probably slightly later, around 1510, while this work seems to date from around the turn of the Century.

Infra-red reflectographs (available to the purchaser, and to be viewable in the on-line catalogue) reveal extensive detailed under-drawing.  The faces are all drawn in a consistent style with small, tight lines, and there are several changes, including in the legs and drapery of the soldier to the right, whose left knee was initially intended to be lifted higher. 

We are grateful to Jan Piet Filedt Kok, Friso Lammertse and Judith Niessen for their help in studying this picture.

1.  See M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. V, Leiden1969, p. 90, no. Supp. 126, reproduced plate 110;
2.  See F. Lammertse, J. Giltaij, Vroege Hollanders. Schilderkunst van de late Middeleeuwen, exhibition catalogue, Rotterdam (Museum Boijmans van Beuningen) 2008, pp. 67-77, reproduced.
3.  Rotterdam, Museum Boymans van Beuningen; see J. Giltay & L. Helmus, in J.R. ter Molen (ed.), Van Eyck to Bruegel, Rotterdam 1994, pp. 128-135, nos. 25 & 26, reproduced.
4.  Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, Inv. no. museum 5164; Idem, pp. 309-11, no. 57, reproduced p. 310 (IRR scans reproduced p. 11, fig. 1).