.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The present triptych, which is remarkable for its state of preservation, is a rare survival of an early painted enamel. The surface of the three plaques is complete, and although much of the gilding has worn away, in a raking light it is still possible to see how extensively the gilded detail was: drapery folds were heightened with gilding, the floor tiles were painted with gold quatrefoils, the architectural details of the background were further refined, and the swathes of cloth behind SS Paul and Peter were decorated to look like brocade. Interestingly, the patterns used for this latter detail are repeated in an enamel by the 'Monvaerni Master' (Netzer, loc. cit.) to whose style this triptych is also related.
Stylistically, the triptych is from amongst the earliest of the painted enamellers, none of whom has been firmly identified. The Master of the Louis XII Triptych derives his name from a triptych of the Annunciation in the Victoria and Albert Museum, featuring a portrait of Louis XII on one of the wings. A number of enamels have been linked, stylistic ally, to that example, and the present triptych can be included in their number. Particularly close is an enamel of the Pietà in the Walters Art Gallery (Verdier, op. cit., no. 31, pp. 56-60). It displays the same palette and drapery style, and the characterful faces - particularly of the flanking male saints - are reminiscent of the face of St. John in the Pietà. This is in contrast to the faces of the roughly contemporary 'Master of the Large Foreheads', whose faces tend to be blander and more stylised.
Stylistically, the triptych is from amongst the earliest of the painted enamellers, none of whom has been firmly identified. The Master of the Louis XII Triptych derives his name from a triptych of the Annunciation in the Victoria and Albert Museum, featuring a portrait of Louis XII on one of the wings. A number of enamels have been linked, stylistic ally, to that example, and the present triptych can be included in their number. Particularly close is an enamel of the Pietà in the Walters Art Gallery (Verdier, op. cit., no. 31, pp. 56-60). It displays the same palette and drapery style, and the characterful faces - particularly of the flanking male saints - are reminiscent of the face of St. John in the Pietà. This is in contrast to the faces of the roughly contemporary 'Master of the Large Foreheads', whose faces tend to be blander and more stylised.