Follower of Hugo van der Goes

Purchased by Dr. Rudolf Kremayr, 1985 in Austria;
Thence by descent in the Kremayr family.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting on oak panel has no reinforcements on the reverse. The wood is flat and the paint layer is stable. The painting is dirty and no restorations are visible under ultraviolet light. To the right of the chin in the hair there are a few small recent scuffs to the paint layer. If and when the picture is cleaned the work will brighten but there is always the chance that some of the darker colors, in particular, have received restoration and so the hair and the beard may be restored. The work does appear to be in very good condition with only slight thinness visible in the drips of blood. The work could be simply retouched as it is and it would look very well.
"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 touching portrait of Christ Crowned with Thorns is part of a group of painting that derive from the works of Hugo van der Goes and Albrecht Bouts.  The artist here shows Christ in a red cloak, with a heavy crown of thorns that cuts into his head, forcing drops of blood to run down his forehead and cheeks.  His right cheek is bruised and his eyes are red, but he seems to be crying almost without knowing it. In other examples from this group Christ holds up his palms to show how he was pierced by the nails of his Crucifixion, or his hands are tied in front and he holds the reed scepter. 

The different versions show a wide range of brutality and suffering, and the present work, in its relatively gentle portrayal, adheres more closely to the prototype established by Van der Goes than that by Bouts.  There is a stillness here that suggests the timeless nature of Christ's suffering and perhaps hints at the redemption beyond. 

Friedländer lists three versions of Christ Crowned with Thorns by Van der Goes's followers, all after an unknown lost work or works by the master.  This painting is closest to the version sold in Brussels at Fiévez in 1928.¹   Another one or  two versions also based on Hugo's prototype have come onto the market in the last 25 years.²  To our knowledge, the present work is previously unrecorded.   

1.  M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. IV: Hugo van der Goes, Leyden and Brussels 1969, p. 74, cat. no. 35, reproduced plate 42.
2.  One was sold as Circle of Huge van der Goes, New York, Christie's, 4 October 1996, lot 71.  The other was described as Attributed to Albert Bouts, sold New York, Christie's, 10 January 1990, lot 202, but with the provenance as Charles L. Cardon, his sale Brussels, 27 June 1921.  However, according to Friedländer, the Cardon picture is the same as his cat. no. 35, and the illustration in the 1996 catalogue seems disctinctly different from Friedländer's illustration and from the illustraton in the Cardon sale.