Master Paintings & Sculpture Day Sale
Master Paintings & Sculpture Day Sale
Auction Closed
January 30, 06:45 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
GERMAN, RHENISH, SECOND HALF 14TH CENTURY
A DEESIS
sandstone
14 ½ by 15 ⅞ in.; 38.8 by 40.3, with later wood base
Private Collection, Bremen, Krefeld
Ancient Greek for prayer or supplication, a 'deesis' is also a depiction of three figures comprising Christ flanked by the Virgin and John the Baptist. In art, this representation became widespread north of the alps in the 13th century but in Germany, the iconography is rare.
Here, Christ sits on a throne-like bench, facing the viewer as the Judge of the World. His mantle covers His shoulders but exposes the wound on His abdomen and His stigmata; the signs of redemption are readily recognizable on His hands and feet. The Virgin Mary and St. John are kneeling beside Him in keeping with their roles as intercessors between God and mankind.
RELATED LITERATURE
Manfred Fath, 'Der Weltenrichter der Mainzer Westlettner-Deesis und seine
Nachfolge' in Mainzer Zeitschrift. Mittelrheinisches Jahrbuch
für Archäologie, pp. 97-101;
Anton Legner, Rheinische Kunst und das Kölner Schnüttgenmuseum, Cologne,
1991, pp. 221, 255, 256