Property from a UK Private Collection
Follower of Ambrosius Benson
A triptych: The Virgin and Child (central panel); Saint John the Baptist (left wing); a monastic saint with a donor (right wing); the wings' reverses with a skull and a coat-of-arms depicting a red bull
Lot Closed
December 7, 10:07 AM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 20,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a UK Private Collection
Follower of Ambrosius Benson
A triptych: The Virgin and Child (central panel); Saint John the Baptist (left wing); a monastic saint with a donor (right wing); the wings' reverses with a skull and a coat-of-arms depicting a red bull
oil on oak panel
central panel: 93.5 x 54.4 cm.; 36¾ x 21⅜ in.
lateral wings: 95.8 x 24.6 cm.; 37¾ x 9¾ in.
The design for the central panel of this dismembered triptych derives from a prototype by Bernard van Orley (1487–1541), reproduced in numerous copies, which often serve as the centrepiece of triptychs particularly from Bruges. The prototype appears to be a painting recorded in the Gendebein Collection, Brussels.1 This and its derivations consistently represent the Virgin holding open the pages of a psalter or Book of Hours with her right hand, whereas here she gestures towards two apples, that represent the Christ Child as Redeemer. The style of execution and palette used in this panel, however, are much more akin to the work of Ambrosius Benson (late 15th century–before 1550).
The two wings are very possibly by another hand, and may even have been added to the central section in Southern Europe – probably in Spain, if the Virgin and Child were produced for export, which would seem likely. The coat-of-arms on the reverse of the left-hand wing depicting a red bull may provide further clues as to the identity of the patron.
1 See M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. VIII, Jan Gossaert and Bernart van Orley, Leiden and Brussels 1972, p. 113, add. 166, reproduced pl. 116.