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Lot Essay
The present relief is carved after an engraving of 1594 by Hendrik Goltzius, which itself is indebted to Drer's engraving of the same subject in circa 1505. This is in keeping with the widespread practice throughout the Renaissance of using engravings as models for reliefs, with works by engravers such as Drer and Marcantonio Raimondi being disseminated in both Italy and Nothern Europe (C. Avery, loc. cit.).
Although the present lot was previously thought to be an early work by Georg Schweigger (1613-1690), Theuerkauff (op. cit., p. 70) suggests that, as Schweigger tended to use of solnhofen stone and often based his compositions on Drer's inventions, the use of alabaster, in the case of the present relief, as well as a near contemporary engraving as a model, both point away from him as the artist. It seems more probable that the relief was executed by a Flemish or Dutch artist working closer to the time of Goltzius, corroborating the theory that alabaster carvers were often reliant on relatively recent engravings as models.
Although the present lot was previously thought to be an early work by Georg Schweigger (1613-1690), Theuerkauff (op. cit., p. 70) suggests that, as Schweigger tended to use of solnhofen stone and often based his compositions on Drer's inventions, the use of alabaster, in the case of the present relief, as well as a near contemporary engraving as a model, both point away from him as the artist. It seems more probable that the relief was executed by a Flemish or Dutch artist working closer to the time of Goltzius, corroborating the theory that alabaster carvers were often reliant on relatively recent engravings as models.