Lot 120
  • 120

Frans Floris the Elder and Workshop

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
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Description

  • Frans Floris the Elder and Workshop
  • Allegory of the Immortality of Virtue
  • oil on canvas

Provenance

In the collection of the family of the present owner for at least three generations.

Condition

The large canvas is lined. The varnish is even if somewhat discoloured. Four tiny areas of loose paint have been stabilised for the time being with facing paper. Inspection under ultra-violet light reveals some small restored damages and some areas of restoration scattered throughout, the most significant of which are: in the face and chest of the reclining woman on the left, and to the right of her head in the dark background; the upper arm of the woman on the right, her right elbow; the faces of both figures at the top. There is a line of restoration running vertically down the canvas, 30 cm from the right margin, along an old canvas seam, and there is a more minor line of retouchings along another vertical seam of fold with runs horizontally, approximately a quarter of the way from the upper margin.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

The subject of this painting is an allegory of the rewards of virtue; a man embraces two naked females; the personification of Immortality, wearing a long swirling dress and sitting on a cloud, emplores him, while Glory, sitting on a globe with a crown on her lap, holds a sceptre over his head. The immortality of Virtue, which generates Honour, Dignity and Glory, is borne out by the inscription on the stone plinth centre right:

Genita deo virtute [sic] /parit pulcherrimo
Partu, tria aelegante/ forma pignora,
Illustrem honorem,/ dignitatem, gloriam
Dat vero opes, dat co-/ piam rerm, infulas,
Mitras, tiaras, purpu-/ ras, sceptra, indicatque
Acceßum ad immor-/ talitatis aureae
Desiderabilem/ beatitudinem.

An engraving by Cornelis Cort, dated 1564, relies heavily on Floris' composition, albeit with a number of differences.1 The engraving is inscribed: Franciscus floris inventor/ H. Cock excu. at the lower right,  and it too has an inscription regarding the subject matter: VIRTUS PARIT HONOREM/ DIGNITATEM GLORIAM/ DAT OPES RERUM COPIAM/ MITRAS SCEPTRA CORONAS/ OSTENDITQUE ACCESSUM/ AD IMMORTALITATEM. A study, in oil on paper laid on canvas, for the head of the reclining woman on the right was sold London, Phillips, 1 July 1997.

ENGRAVED:
By Cornelis Cort (1536-1578) in 1564.

1. M. Sellink, The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts 1450-1700. Cornelis Cort, Part II, Rotterdam 2000, p. 222, no. 146, reproduced.