FOLLOWER OF HANS MULTSCHER (CIRCA 1400-1467) | VIRGIN AND CHILD

Sotheby's London, 7 July 2006, lot 40

The influence of the pioneering Swabian sculptor Hans Multscher on this beautiful group is particularly evident in the pose of the Christ Child, which is clearly derived from Multscher's Virgin and Child in Landsberg, executed circa 1435-1440. Another close comparison to the present composition, albeit in mirrored form, is found in a Virgin and Child in Stockheim, made by a follower of Multscher around 1470 (Bildindex Foto Marburg, no. rhhn88_9_06a). The present Virgin is distinguished by her unusually slender figure, which contrasts with Multscher's female figures but is reminiscent of the sculptor's fragmented Angels surrounding the 'Karg-Nische' of 1433 at Ulm Minster.

RELATED LITERATURE

Hans Multscher: Bildhauer der Spätgotik in Ulm, exh. cat. Ulmer Museum, Ulm, 1997, pp. 41 and 306-309