Lot Essay
The present lot is an important rediscovery, as the whereabouts of this wing of an altarpiece, now divided in two, was unknown after 1938, when Demus (op.cit., p. 94) recorded them on the Viennese art market.
Demus (loc.cit., 1932) was the first to recognize that they were the work of the Master of Gerlamoos, later identified as Thomas von Villach. He was the most important painter of his province of Carinthin. For the identification on the basis of a signed altarpiece in the Museum at Villach and archival material, see A. Stange, op.cit., p. 89. Demus also discovered that the panels were noted by the Jesuit monk Philippus Algamb in 1627, who described Saint Domitian as being the right wing of an altarpiece ordered by Siebenhierter, who was High Master of the Knightly Order of Saint George at Millstatt from 1469 to 1508 (manuscript now kept in the Landesarchiv, Klagenfurt; cited by Demus, op.cit., p. 94, note 187).
Millstatt in Carinthin - the province east of Tyrol - was the centre of the Veneration of Saint Domitian in the 15th century. According to a legend, this Saint was the first Christian Duke of Carinthin, and founded the first Benedictine Monastery in Millstatt in the 8th century (see R. Eisler, Die Legende vom Heiligen Karanthaner Herzog Domitianus in Mitteilungen der österreichische Institut für Geschichtsforschung, XXVII, 1907, pp. 52 ff.). The Knightly Order of Saint George was founded in 1469 by Emperor Friedrich III at the request of Pope Paul II to protect the country against the Turks. The first High Master was Johann Siebenhirter who is seen on an altarpiece in the Museum at Klagenfurt as he is received by the Order in presence of the Pope, cardinals and the Emperor.
In the present lot Saint Domitian is depicted as Duke of Carinthin, the coat-of-arms of the province appear on the banners with richly ornamented drapery comparable to the fresco by Fromiller in the Burgkapelle, Klagenfurt. The Saint wears the chain of the Kannen-Orden, which was devoted to the cult of the Madonna; it is also seen in the picture of the Madonna in the Marienkirche in Gailitz. The style of the pictures is that of the last phase of the artist, circa 1490.
We would like to thank Dr Ludwig Meyer of the Archiv für Kunstgeschichte in Munich for his help in cataloguing this lot. He has confirmed the date of execution circa 1490. His report is available to the buyer
See colour illustrations
Demus (loc.cit., 1932) was the first to recognize that they were the work of the Master of Gerlamoos, later identified as Thomas von Villach. He was the most important painter of his province of Carinthin. For the identification on the basis of a signed altarpiece in the Museum at Villach and archival material, see A. Stange, op.cit., p. 89. Demus also discovered that the panels were noted by the Jesuit monk Philippus Algamb in 1627, who described Saint Domitian as being the right wing of an altarpiece ordered by Siebenhierter, who was High Master of the Knightly Order of Saint George at Millstatt from 1469 to 1508 (manuscript now kept in the Landesarchiv, Klagenfurt; cited by Demus, op.cit., p. 94, note 187).
Millstatt in Carinthin - the province east of Tyrol - was the centre of the Veneration of Saint Domitian in the 15th century. According to a legend, this Saint was the first Christian Duke of Carinthin, and founded the first Benedictine Monastery in Millstatt in the 8th century (see R. Eisler, Die Legende vom Heiligen Karanthaner Herzog Domitianus in Mitteilungen der österreichische Institut für Geschichtsforschung, XXVII, 1907, pp. 52 ff.). The Knightly Order of Saint George was founded in 1469 by Emperor Friedrich III at the request of Pope Paul II to protect the country against the Turks. The first High Master was Johann Siebenhirter who is seen on an altarpiece in the Museum at Klagenfurt as he is received by the Order in presence of the Pope, cardinals and the Emperor.
In the present lot Saint Domitian is depicted as Duke of Carinthin, the coat-of-arms of the province appear on the banners with richly ornamented drapery comparable to the fresco by Fromiller in the Burgkapelle, Klagenfurt. The Saint wears the chain of the Kannen-Orden, which was devoted to the cult of the Madonna; it is also seen in the picture of the Madonna in the Marienkirche in Gailitz. The style of the pictures is that of the last phase of the artist, circa 1490.
We would like to thank Dr Ludwig Meyer of the Archiv für Kunstgeschichte in Munich for his help in cataloguing this lot. He has confirmed the date of execution circa 1490. His report is available to the buyer
See colour illustrations