South German or Austrian School, circa 1500

Silberman Galleries, New York, probably by 1938 until at least 1950;
Chester D. Tripp, Chicago, by 1960, until 1974;
By descent to his widow, Jane B. Tripp, Chicago, until 1988;
By whom bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, in 1988 (Acc.no. 1988.264).

Montclair, New Jersey, Montclair Art Museum, Religious Art from Giotto to Gauguin, 3 April - 23 April 1941, no. 18, (as Hans Holbein the Elder);
Muskegon, Michigan, Hackley Art Gallery, Paintings by Masters from 1450-1850, November 1941 (no catalogue);
Atlanta, High Museum of Art, Gems of European Art, January 1942 (no catalogue);
Bloomington, Indiana, Indiana University Fine Arts Department, An Exhibition of Medieval Art, 17 October - 17 November 1945, no. 12 (as Hans Holbein the Elder);
Columbus, Ohio, Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, The Gothic North, 1 October - 7 November 1949, no. 12 (as Hans Holbein the Elder);
Indianapolis, John Herron Art Museum, Holbein and his Contemporaries, 22 October - 24 December 1950, no. 32 (as Hans Holbein the Elder);
New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery, Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture Collected by Yale Alumni, 19 May - 26 June 1960, no. 2 (as Hans Holbein the Elder).

Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, "The Gothic North", exhibition catalogue, in Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts Monthly Bulletin, 20, Columbus 1949, p. 4, cat. no. 12 (as Hans Holbeing the Elder);
Holbein and his contemporaries, exhibition catalogue, Indianapolis 1950, no. 33, reproduced fig. 33 (as Hans Holbein the Elder);
A. Stange, Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, vol. VIII, Berlin and Munich 1957, pp. 79-80 (as Hans Holbein the Elder);
Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture Collected by Yale Alumni, exhibition catalogue, New Haven 1960, p. 4, cat. no. 2, reproduced (as Hans Holbein the Elder);
A. Stange, Kritisches Verzeichnis der deutschen Tafelbilder vor Dürer, vol. II, Munich 1970, p. 180, no. 798;
Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report 1988-89, Chicago 1989, p. 55;
Kurt Löcher, Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg. Die Gemälde des 16. Jahrhunderts, Stuttgart 1997, pp. 262-3. 

The panel is flat, stable, cradled, and comprised of two pieces of wood brought together by a vertical join. The varnish is slightly discolored and may mask retouches underneath, for instance along the join as they are not visible under UV. There are virtually no retouches visible under UV, save for a couple tiny pin dot size brush strokes. To the naked eye the picture appears in healthy condition, though one should consult a restorer to ascertain possible retouches beneath the varnish.
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.

The iconography of this Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine is particularly rare: the saint is shown in bed, apparently sleeping, as she experiences the vision in which she is joined in a mystical union with Christ, here placing a ring on her oustretched finger, overseen by the Virgin.  In 1950, at the time of its inclusion in the Indianapolis exhibition (see Exhibited), Erwin Panofsky noted parallels between the architecture in this painting and that in an earlier woodcut print of the Glorification of the Virgin by Albrecht Dürer, first published in 1511.¹  Kurt Löcher mentions this panel in his discussion of a pair of paintings by the Monogrammist HG in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nurenberg (see Literature), noting that, despite the evident influence of Dürer visible in the composition of the architectural interior, in terms of figure types and drapery formation, this anonymous hand seems closer to the Monogrammist HG.²

Dr. Isolde Lübbeke has kindly informed us that this lot was originally the lower right panel from the inner wing of an altarpiece illustrating the Legend of St. Catherine.  The other three panels from the wings are now in the Schlägler Stiftskirche, in Upper Austria and are published in I.H. Pichler and H. Etzlstorfer, Schlägler Gemäldekatalog : Geschichte der Schlägler Gemäldesammlung und Bildergalerie : Verzeichnis der vorhandenen Gemälde, Linz 1987, pp.76, 98 and 99, as “Schüler des Krainburger Meisters”, possibly part of the Danube school, working in Upper Austria or in the region of Salzburg.

1.  For the Dürer print see K.A. Knappe, Dürer, the complete engravings, etchings and woodcuts, New York 1965, reproduced plate 245.
2. See K. Löcher under Literature, op. cit., p. 262.