North German School, Circa 1480-1500

Horace Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (1717-1797), Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, Middlesex;
By inheritance to John James, 6th Earl Waldegrave (1785-1835);
His estate sale, Strawberry Hill, George Robins auctioneers, 25 April - 24 May 1842, 22nd day of sale (19 May), lot 125, for £24.3s  (as "A valuable old picture, on panel, representing a Marriage Ceremony, with a numerous assemblage of Figures; a fine specimen of the early German school and probably by VAN EYCK");
Where acquired by Edward Smith Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby (1775-1851);
By descent to Edward John Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby (1918-1994);
His sale, London, Christie's, 22 April 1955, lot 28 (as School of Cologne);
Private collection.

Manchester, Art Treasures of the United Kingdom collected at Manchester in 1857,  provisional catalogue no. 922 (as "Old German")

H. Walpole, Aedes Strawberrianae. Name of Purchasers and the Prices to the Sale Catalogue of the Collections of Art and Virtù, at Strawberry-Hill, Formed by Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford, London 1842, p. 53;
[Catalogue of the paintings at Knowsley Hall], 1850, no. 294;
[Catalogue of the paintings at Knowsley Hall], 1860, no. 386 (as attributed to Jan van Eyck);
Catalogue of the Art Treasures of the United Kingdom collected at Manchester in 1857, provisional catalogue no. 922; 2nd ed., catalogue no. 428 (as "Old German");
 G. Scharf, A Descriptive and Historical Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures at Knowsley Hall, London 1875, pp. 190-191, no. 367;
F.H. Stephens, Notes on the pictures at Knowsley Hall, 1881 (as by an artist of the "early German school");
W.H.J. Weale and M.W. Brockwell, The Van Eycks and Their Art, New York and London 1912, p. 257 (Appendix B: "List of Pictures...sold at Public Auction under the name of the Van Eycks");
A. Graves, A Century of Loan Exhibitions, 1813-1912, vol. I, London 1913, p. 411 (as German School [Old])

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 work on panel is flat. It shows an old cradle on the reverse, which is still effective. The panel has not shown any signs of causing instability to the paint layer. The painting is noticeably yellowed with an old varnish. Although it could be hung in its current condition, this is a work that should respond dramatically to cleaning. Restorations are not clearly visible under ultraviolet light. The condition seems to be very good throughout the figures. The architecture in the church beyond and in the sky has received restorations. These retouches would be removed if the picture were cleaned and would require attention. Given the stability of the paint layer, these retouches are probably driven by abrasion and an emergence of the wood grain of the panel.
"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."

The setting of this striking depiction of the Marriage of the Virgin is, as is common in northern Europe, directly in front of a church, the columns and vaults of the interior providing a backdrop for the ceremony.  Here the artist has actually removed the church doors so that we can look down the central aisle all the way to the organ and trumpeters in the gallery at the rear. Joseph, the elder bridegroom, carries a sprouting rod, distinguishing him from all the other men who carry plain rods.  The sprouting rod suggests fertility and the impending birth of Christ, but also is a symbol of power and authority, referring back to Aaron’s rod in Numbers, Chapter 17.  The artist here unusually introduced some genre elements into the otherwise solemn occasion, including a dog trying to steal the young John the Baptist’s hat at the left, and an annoyed suitor breaking his rod at the right. 

The Marriage of the Virgin has a distinguished provenance having once been in the collection of Horace Walpole, famous author, antiquarian, art collector and enthusiastic proponent of the Gothic Revival.  He is perhaps best known for his house, Strawberry Hill, which he had built in Twickenham, west of London, and housed his collection of some 4,000 works of art and artifacts.  When it was dispersed in 1842 (see Provenance), the auctioneer began his introduction to the catalogue, itself an encomium to Walpole and the house, with a poem written by the Earl of Bath:

Some cry up Gunnesbury,
For Sion some declare,
And some say that with Chiswick House
No villa can compare;
But ask the beaux of Middlesex,
Who know the country well,
If Strawberry Hill – if Strawberry Hill
Don’t bear away the bell.