Augsburg School, ca. 1505 - Lot 43

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Lot n° 43
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Estimation :
25000 - 35000 EUR
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Augsburg School, ca. 1505 - Lot 43
Augsburg School, ca. 1505 Three Scenes from the Life of the Virgin Prepared panel, two boards, reinforced. Height: 68.5 cm Width: 179 cm Previous restorations, lifting, and small losses Provenance: Rieunier & Bailly-Pommery auction, Paris, March 24, 1999 (appraiser: Eric Turquin), lot 12 (sold for 480,000 francs) The donor’s coat of arms on the left is most likely that of a member of the Voln von Wildnaw family, originally from Sorabe. The three panels of this composition draw directly on three famous woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer, from his prestigious series of nineteen engravings devoted to the life of the Virgin, conceived between 1503 and 1511 and published in Nuremberg in 1511. The meeting of Joachim and Anne at the Golden Gate, the Birth of the Virgin, and her Presentation in the Temple—corresponding to the third, fourth, and fifth scenes of the series—are transposed here into compositions of remarkable fidelity, attesting to the European dissemination of Dürer’s model and the artistic ambition of this ensemble. Note the presence, to the right of the scene, of a white cloth draped over a towel rack, as well as a pot hanging in a niche. Combined with the immaculate whiteness of the cloth and its placement in a niche, it helps evoke purity, the cleanliness of the soul, and Mary’s virginity. Furthermore, this ensemble is directly linked to a charming still-life detail placed on the mantelpiece. - The Woman with the Pitcher (central panel): The woman drinking from a pitcher is most likely depicted in a domestic context following childbirth, rather than as a specific episode in the Virgin’s life, a parable, or a precise Marian symbol. She is most likely a midwife attending to the woman after childbirth. This motif is attested in several depictions of the Nativity of the Virgin, notably in Albrecht Dürer’s engraving (see photos) dedicated to this episode: in it, a midwife drinks after assisting with the birth. The gesture likely emphasizes her fatigue and her need to quench her thirst, in a scene deliberately rooted in everyday life. Note: This depiction is common in the iconography of the Nativity of the Virgin, which draws inspiration from apocryphal accounts such as the Protoevangelium of James, since the canonical Gospels do not recount the birth of Mary. Artists therefore developed the scene based on legendary traditions and observations of the customs of their time. Expert: Stéphane Pinta, Turquin Gallery (viewable by appointment with the expert)
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