Lot Essay
These two panels are connected, by virtue not only of their style and iconography, but also of their provenance, with a pair of altarpiece shutters in the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique (M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, VIII, ed. H. Pauwels and S. Herzog, Leyden and Brussels, 1972, p. 81, pl. 137 B.)
The two shutters in Brussels, also depicting Saint Michael (the patron saint of Brussels), were included in the catalogue of the Willem II sale in 1850 immediately following the present lot. Although the dimensions are slightly different from the present panels, all four most probably originate from the same altarpiece. Each of the panels contains paintings executed by a later hand on the reverse: the Brussels panels depict the Birth of the Virgin and the present panels depict two groups of figures in a temple. Friedländer believed that the Brussels panels were executed by a workshop assistant of van Orley, but noted that the design would have been that of the master himself. While there is currently much disagreement among scholars about who was responsible for the execution of the present paintings, all concur that the quality and execution is exceptional and, perhaps, superior to that of the two panels in Brussels. Edwin Buijsen (in a letter dated 25 January 1996) and Yvette Bruijnen, who is preparing a dissertation on Jan van Rillaer (a follower of van Orley who was working in Louvain) believe that the present panels are by a close follower of van Orley. Buijsen also notes that another painting which is very similar in execution is a Christ carrying the Cross, sold in Berlin on 20 November 1900, lot 40, as 'B. van Orley': indeed, the head in profile of the left soldier beating Christ is repeated in one of the horsemen in Moses parting the Red Sea. Nicole Dacos Crifò (in a letter dated 29 February 1996) also believes they were executed 'au milieu bruxellois de Bernard van Orley' and dates them just after the Altarpiece of the Visitations of Job, also in Brussels, which is signed by the artist and dated 24 May 1521 (op. cit., p. 102, no. 85, pl. 78). The soldier in the central panel in that altarpiece offers a telling comparison with the soldier on horseback in the foreground of Moses parting the Red Sea.
The most obvious link in terms of subject matter between the four is the celestial presence of one or more angels in each of them. Their iconography, which is alternately straightforward and obscure, would appear to be explained by their dependence on a particular textual source, namely the chapter devoted to Saint Michael in Jacopo da Voragine's Golden Legend. This text not only discusses episodes traditionally associated with Saint Michael, but also serves as a more general consideration of the relations between angels and men.
In the Preface to the chapter on Saint Michael, it is explained that it is said he smote Egypt with the seven plagues, parted the waters of the Red Sea, guided the children of Israel in the wilderness, and led them into the promised land. This passage explains the scene of Pharaoh's army drowning in the Red Sea. In a later passage devoted to the benefits of receiving protection from one's guardian angel, it is explained that 'he drives away idleness, as is written in the Book of Zechariah, Chapter IV, Verse 1: And the angel that talked with me came again and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.' The second panel would thus be explained as an emblematic representation of a man about to be wakened from his sleep.
This same passage on guardian angels could also explain one of the two Brussels shutters (the other shows a famous scene - the Procession of Saint Gregory the Great, when the angel sheathing his sword above Hadrian's Mausoleum signalled the end of the plague, which resulted in the building being known as the Castel Sant' Angelo thereafter). The guidance and protection of guardian angels is signified by the angel who was Tobias' companion and brought him safely home. In the apocryphal Book of Tobit, the archangel is named as Raphael, but this is not stated in the Golden Legend, and Tobias with the fish would seem to be shown in the background of the panel.
To conclude, it seems reasonable to suppose that all these panels did originally form supporting elements from a larger complex. In that case, the central panel - now apparently lost - would almost certainly have shown Saint Michael's triumph over Lucifer and the Rebel Angels.
The two shutters in Brussels, also depicting Saint Michael (the patron saint of Brussels), were included in the catalogue of the Willem II sale in 1850 immediately following the present lot. Although the dimensions are slightly different from the present panels, all four most probably originate from the same altarpiece. Each of the panels contains paintings executed by a later hand on the reverse: the Brussels panels depict the Birth of the Virgin and the present panels depict two groups of figures in a temple. Friedländer believed that the Brussels panels were executed by a workshop assistant of van Orley, but noted that the design would have been that of the master himself. While there is currently much disagreement among scholars about who was responsible for the execution of the present paintings, all concur that the quality and execution is exceptional and, perhaps, superior to that of the two panels in Brussels. Edwin Buijsen (in a letter dated 25 January 1996) and Yvette Bruijnen, who is preparing a dissertation on Jan van Rillaer (a follower of van Orley who was working in Louvain) believe that the present panels are by a close follower of van Orley. Buijsen also notes that another painting which is very similar in execution is a Christ carrying the Cross, sold in Berlin on 20 November 1900, lot 40, as 'B. van Orley': indeed, the head in profile of the left soldier beating Christ is repeated in one of the horsemen in Moses parting the Red Sea. Nicole Dacos Crifò (in a letter dated 29 February 1996) also believes they were executed 'au milieu bruxellois de Bernard van Orley' and dates them just after the Altarpiece of the Visitations of Job, also in Brussels, which is signed by the artist and dated 24 May 1521 (op. cit., p. 102, no. 85, pl. 78). The soldier in the central panel in that altarpiece offers a telling comparison with the soldier on horseback in the foreground of Moses parting the Red Sea.
The most obvious link in terms of subject matter between the four is the celestial presence of one or more angels in each of them. Their iconography, which is alternately straightforward and obscure, would appear to be explained by their dependence on a particular textual source, namely the chapter devoted to Saint Michael in Jacopo da Voragine's Golden Legend. This text not only discusses episodes traditionally associated with Saint Michael, but also serves as a more general consideration of the relations between angels and men.
In the Preface to the chapter on Saint Michael, it is explained that it is said he smote Egypt with the seven plagues, parted the waters of the Red Sea, guided the children of Israel in the wilderness, and led them into the promised land. This passage explains the scene of Pharaoh's army drowning in the Red Sea. In a later passage devoted to the benefits of receiving protection from one's guardian angel, it is explained that 'he drives away idleness, as is written in the Book of Zechariah, Chapter IV, Verse 1: And the angel that talked with me came again and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.' The second panel would thus be explained as an emblematic representation of a man about to be wakened from his sleep.
This same passage on guardian angels could also explain one of the two Brussels shutters (the other shows a famous scene - the Procession of Saint Gregory the Great, when the angel sheathing his sword above Hadrian's Mausoleum signalled the end of the plague, which resulted in the building being known as the Castel Sant' Angelo thereafter). The guidance and protection of guardian angels is signified by the angel who was Tobias' companion and brought him safely home. In the apocryphal Book of Tobit, the archangel is named as Raphael, but this is not stated in the Golden Legend, and Tobias with the fish would seem to be shown in the background of the panel.
To conclude, it seems reasonable to suppose that all these panels did originally form supporting elements from a larger complex. In that case, the central panel - now apparently lost - would almost certainly have shown Saint Michael's triumph over Lucifer and the Rebel Angels.