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Lot Essay
Depicted with his hands clasped, an expression of solemn anguish on his face, this small painting of Saint John the Evangelist is a fine example of the elegance and courtly refinement which typified painting in Cologne at the beginning of the fifteenth century. Traditionally the attitude adopted by the saint in this panel is associated with scenes of the Crucifixion when his more traditional attributes of an eagle or poisoned chalice were not necessary and inappropriate to the setting. The delicate pattern of punchwork which borders the panel suggests that it was not cut directly from a larger panel but that it probably formed part of a larger ensemble of similar works, almost certainly counterbalancing an image of the grieving Virgin, with a Crucifixion between. The orientation of the panel likewise suggests that the heavy weighting toward the left would have to be balanced by a comparable subject facing right.
While no attribution has yet been convincingly made for the artist of this picture, its place in the artistic milieu of Cologne during the first half of the fifteenth century is clear. Indeed, the influence of the city’s great masters like Stefan Lochner and the Master of Saint Veronica is evident in the rounded face, soft palette and elegant style. The way in which the saint’s curly hair is painted, using circular strokes of pale yellow over a light brown under-paint, is reminiscent of the work of other Cologne masters working in the ‘Courtly Style’, in particular the angels in the Master of Saint Lawrence’s Virgin in the Garden of Paradise, of circa 1420 (Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, inv. no. WRM Dep. 0361). The present artist’s interest in drapery, however, seems to have been greater and he lavished attention on his Saint John’s voluminous mantle, which is tucked up under the saint’s arm revealing the pink lining and falls in a complex series of folds to the grassy floor. Saint John’s hands and feet too are removed from the Master of Saint Lawrence’s more delicate treatment of these features.
While no attribution has yet been convincingly made for the artist of this picture, its place in the artistic milieu of Cologne during the first half of the fifteenth century is clear. Indeed, the influence of the city’s great masters like Stefan Lochner and the Master of Saint Veronica is evident in the rounded face, soft palette and elegant style. The way in which the saint’s curly hair is painted, using circular strokes of pale yellow over a light brown under-paint, is reminiscent of the work of other Cologne masters working in the ‘Courtly Style’, in particular the angels in the Master of Saint Lawrence’s Virgin in the Garden of Paradise, of circa 1420 (Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, inv. no. WRM Dep. 0361). The present artist’s interest in drapery, however, seems to have been greater and he lavished attention on his Saint John’s voluminous mantle, which is tucked up under the saint’s arm revealing the pink lining and falls in a complex series of folds to the grassy floor. Saint John’s hands and feet too are removed from the Master of Saint Lawrence’s more delicate treatment of these features.