Wooden sculpture depicting Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Provenance: Lower Rhine or Southern Tyrol
Late 15th century (circa 1480)
Lime wood (single trunk, hollowed back), traces of polychromy on the back
Height: 105 cm
Provenance: BONHAMS London, New Bond Street, Auction June 23, 2021, lot 2, estimate £12,000 - £18,000
(https://www.bonhams.com/auction/26979/lot/2/a-late-15th-century-carved-limewood-figure-of-a-female-s...)
The wooden sculpture in question, depicting an elegant full-length Saint Elizabeth, is the work of a master sculptor of Gothic heritage active in the late fifteenth century. The Saint, to allude to her noble origins as a princess, appears crowned with a jewel-encrusted headdress resting on her long flowing hair, presenting herself as refined and elegant but with a hieratic bearing.
Deserving of mention are the sumptuous vestments that envelop her figure, consisting of a sophisticated, fitted bodice with a pattern that evokes brocade fabric, and embellished with a vertical band adorned with precious stones.
The Queen Saint is then wrapped in a mantle placed over her shoulders and closed at the chest by a knot, a decorative detail with symbolic value that, in all probability, could be a reference to her union with Christ or her spiritual bond.
The left hand supports the richly folded and draped skirt, while the right, now missing, may once have held a scepter or a book, or was simply positioned in a gesture of blessing.
In its elegant design, the sculpture, evoking the canons of French Gothic tradition, will capture the admiration of any lover of ancient sculptures, certainly for its ideal beauty but, at the same time, also for the strength and sense of solemnity it manages to convey.
The quality of the work and the richness of detail, among which the drapery details carved with abundance in the wood stand out, allow it to be associated with the rich sculptural production typical of the Lower Rhine region (or as previously proposed, although less likely, of Southern Tyrol) which, from the 14th-15th centuries, became one of the major centers specialized in sculptural art.
Inspiration for our author came from Italian Renaissance and especially Flemish culture; his style is therefore a personal synthesis of these two influences with French Gothic art.
Speaking of Flemish influences, the work indeed echoes the magnificent statue, with the same subject, now housed in the Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht, a late 15th-century work by the Master of Leende (see image in details, https://adlib.catharijneconvent.nl/Details/collect/42290). Typical of Flemish art are the sumptuous garments with heavy folds, the rounded egg-shaped heads, almond-shaped eyes with drooping lids, thick and spaced locks of hair, and a subtle attention to detail.
This is a work of exceptional sculptural quality, presented in good condition for its age, with a splendid burnished patina; losses consistent with its age.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The work is sold with a certificate of authenticity and a descriptive iconographic sheet.
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