A PARCEL-GILT POLYCHROME CARVED WOOD FIGURE OF A MAN, TRADITIONALLY MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA

WORKSHOP OF JRG LEDERER (DIED 1550), CIRCA 1520

Details

A PARCEL-GILT POLYCHROME CARVED WOOD FIGURE OF A MAN, TRADITIONALLY MAXIMILIAN OF AUSTRIA
WORKSHOP OF JRG LEDERER (DIED 1550), CIRCA 1520
On an integrally carved naturalistic base; the reverse hollowed out and inscribed 'N.Y' and '534'.
Minor wear to surface; minor repairs, losses and cracks; the sword probably associated.
23 in. (59.1 cm.) high

Provenance

Dumoulin Collection, Brussels

Literature

J. Boccador and E. Bresset, Statuaire Mdivale de collection, 1972, II, p. 180, fig. 198.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
Flammarion, Tout l'Oeuvre Peint de Drer, 1969, nos. 157-158.
T. Mller, Gotische Skulptur in Tirol, Bozen and Vienna, fig. 282 Paris, Louvre, Sculptures allemandes de la fin du Moyen Age dans les collections publiques franaises 1400-1530, 22 Oct. 1991 - 20 Jan. 1992, nos. 67, 68.

Lot Essay

The traditional identification of the present figure as Emperor Maximilian I of Austria is largely based on a comparison with Drer's famous portrait of the ruler, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (Flammarion, loc. cit.). Although the present figure portrays a younger man, the features, the hair and the costume are all in accord with Drer's image.
The early life of the sculptor Jrg Lederer is still unclear, however he is documented in Fssen in 1499, and shortly thereafter he moved to the imperial city of Kaufbeuren, where he developed a large atelier. The present work may be compared with a number of his works, including a relief of the Death of the Virgin in a private collection (illustrated in Mller, loc. cit.).

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