The Virgin and Child with Saints and kneeling Donors, (possibly) Duke Johann I of Palatinate-Simmern (1459-1509) and two Nuns of the order of Saint Clare, (possibly) Katharina (1455-1522) and Anna (1465-1517) of Palatinate-Simmern

The coat of arms of Bavaria and Geldern depicted refer to the family of Friedrich I of Pfalz-Simmern, who was a Duke of Bavaria of the house of Wittelsbach. He was married to Margarethe of Geldern. The male donor is dressed as a secular canon and attended by John the Baptist who could be his name saint allowing him to be identified as Johann I of Palatinate-Simmern, son of Friedrich I. The two nuns are sisters of Johann I. Both became Poor Clares in Trier.
Although the present lot stylistically recalls early Dutch painting it could be by a local master possibly situated in the Central Rhineland. This provenance is emphasized by iconographic elements: next to Saint John the Baptist appears Saint Martin, who is not spending his mantle as usual but coins. This rare motif can particularly be found in the region of Mainz and Frankfurt; also the figure of Saint Quirinus of Neuss on the left side of the panel refers to the broader region of the Central Rhineland. The detailed river landscape in the background is composed of several repetitive elements which could derive from examples of the Medieval Housebook of Wolfegg. Similar landscapes also appear in works from the circle of Hans Pleydenwurff in Nürnberg but were distributed more broadly through prints after 1470/80.
We are grateful to Dr. Ralf G. Jahn, Dr. Harald Droes, Dr. Bernhard Konrad and Dr. Daniel Hess for their assistance in cataloguing this lot.