Lot Essay
Felipe Vigarny was Burgundian by birth and training, but he arrived in Burgos in 1498. His panels for the cathedral there, including the Christ on the Road to Calvary, are often cited as the first Renaissance works in Spain. The present relief compares closely with Vigarny's work from later in his career, when his early training had absorbed some of the late Gothic mannerism prevalent in the local tradition.
The present lot appears to be one of a group of panels probably previously an altarpiece made by Vigarny, with eight in the Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, and another at San Simeon, William Randolph Hearst's castle. The Indiana panels represent The Birth of the Virgin, The Marriage of the Virgin, The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Adoration of the Magi, The Presentation in the Temple and The Flight into Egypt.
The present lot appears to be one of a group of panels probably previously an altarpiece made by Vigarny, with eight in the Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, and another at San Simeon, William Randolph Hearst's castle. The Indiana panels represent The Birth of the Virgin, The Marriage of the Virgin, The Annunciation, The Visitation, The Nativity, The Adoration of the Magi, The Presentation in the Temple and The Flight into Egypt.