ITALIAN, PROBABLY MID 15TH CENTURY

The present lot is an example of the progression away from the late Gothic style of carving to that of the early Italian renaissance during the late 14th and early 15th centuries. A comparison of the present lot to works by early renaissance pioneers such as Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455) demonstrates the movement away from the rigid Gothic style to the more fluid classical feeling. Indeed the present lot bears certain similarities to Ghiberti's works such as the St. Stephano in the Orsanmichele, Florence (loc. cit.) Even though conceived on a different scale, in each instance there is a similar attention to the slender, elongated proportions of the bodies and to the nature of the drapery, which varies from semi-circular hanging folds around the waist to almost vertical folds by the legs. And while in both cases elements of the drapery still maintain some of the Gothic stiffness and angularity, there are already hints of classical elements such as the contrapposto of the principal figure, and in the case of the present lot, the naturalistic rendition of the young Christ and St. John.