Lot Essay
The present hitherto unrecorded panel, in a marvelous state of conservation and never before offered at auction, can be given to an unknown Antwerp artist of circa 1515-20, who has been labelled the Master of the Västerâs Trinity, after the volet of an altarpiece in Västerâs Cathedral (see J. Destree, Revue belge d'Archéologie et d'histoire de l'art, III, no. 2, 1933, fig. IV as The Master of Dilighem [sic.]).
The Master of the Abbey of Dieleghem is more commonly identified as the Master of 1518, who has, in turn, most recently been identified as Jan van Dornicke, the teacher of Pieter Coecke van Aelst. It was Friedländer who attributed the triptych of Christ at the House of Simon the Pharisee, in the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels to The Master of 1518 (Inv. no. 329; Catalogue Inventaire de las Peinture Ancienne, 1984, p. 354, illustrated; and M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, XI, ed. H. Pauwels, 1974, p. 30, pl. 74), having rejected the previous pseudonym. He noted that the donor in the Brussels picture had at one time been identified as Jan de Tengele, an abbot of Dieleghem. This identification was made on the basis of an inscription on the triptych that reads 'cum moderamine', supposedly indicating the name Teugele, the Dutch word 'Teugel' translating as 'reins' (A.J. Wauters, Corneille van Koninxloo et le triptyque de l'abbé de Teugele au Musée de Bruxelles, Revue de Belgique, 55, 1909, p. 108; and M.J. Friedländer, op. cit., p. 30). Friedländer discovered that de Teugele only became abbot in 1537, a date that clearly conflicted with the earlier style of the altarpiece. It is now believed that many of the works that Friedländer labelled under The Master of 1518 are in fact by different hands working in the same cultural climate of Antwerp during the first quarter of the 16th century.
It has been surmised that The Master of the Västerâs Trinity had some training in Bruges, as his work, like that of the Master of the Holy Blood and The Master of the Adoration of the van Groot Adoration shows both strong Antwerp Mannerist tendencies as well as the influence of the most important exponents of the Bruges style, Quentin Massys and Gerard David. Indeed, one of the hallmarks of this artist's work is his ability to combine so successfully these quite distinct styles, as exemplified by his brilliant coloring. The architectural setting in the present panel and the Virgin and Child's position are strongly reminiscent of Massys's altarpiece in the National Gallery, London (Inv. no. 6282, Friedländer, op. cit., VII, pl. 29); and of the Child in Jan Gossaert's altarpiece in Galeria Nazionale, Palermo (ibid., VIII, pl. 5).
Dirk de Vos (Curator, Groeningemuseum, Bruges) and Willy Laureyssen (Curator, Musée royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels) have confirmed the attribution and suggest a date of circa 1515-20).
The Master of the Abbey of Dieleghem is more commonly identified as the Master of 1518, who has, in turn, most recently been identified as Jan van Dornicke, the teacher of Pieter Coecke van Aelst. It was Friedländer who attributed the triptych of Christ at the House of Simon the Pharisee, in the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels to The Master of 1518 (Inv. no. 329; Catalogue Inventaire de las Peinture Ancienne, 1984, p. 354, illustrated; and M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, XI, ed. H. Pauwels, 1974, p. 30, pl. 74), having rejected the previous pseudonym. He noted that the donor in the Brussels picture had at one time been identified as Jan de Tengele, an abbot of Dieleghem. This identification was made on the basis of an inscription on the triptych that reads 'cum moderamine', supposedly indicating the name Teugele, the Dutch word 'Teugel' translating as 'reins' (A.J. Wauters, Corneille van Koninxloo et le triptyque de l'abbé de Teugele au Musée de Bruxelles, Revue de Belgique, 55, 1909, p. 108; and M.J. Friedländer, op. cit., p. 30). Friedländer discovered that de Teugele only became abbot in 1537, a date that clearly conflicted with the earlier style of the altarpiece. It is now believed that many of the works that Friedländer labelled under The Master of 1518 are in fact by different hands working in the same cultural climate of Antwerp during the first quarter of the 16th century.
It has been surmised that The Master of the Västerâs Trinity had some training in Bruges, as his work, like that of the Master of the Holy Blood and The Master of the Adoration of the van Groot Adoration shows both strong Antwerp Mannerist tendencies as well as the influence of the most important exponents of the Bruges style, Quentin Massys and Gerard David. Indeed, one of the hallmarks of this artist's work is his ability to combine so successfully these quite distinct styles, as exemplified by his brilliant coloring. The architectural setting in the present panel and the Virgin and Child's position are strongly reminiscent of Massys's altarpiece in the National Gallery, London (Inv. no. 6282, Friedländer, op. cit., VII, pl. 29); and of the Child in Jan Gossaert's altarpiece in Galeria Nazionale, Palermo (ibid., VIII, pl. 5).
Dirk de Vos (Curator, Groeningemuseum, Bruges) and Willy Laureyssen (Curator, Musée royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels) have confirmed the attribution and suggest a date of circa 1515-20).