Tempera Figurative Paintings

Provenance: with “Mr. Scheer,” Vienna, by July 1918; where acquired by: Jindřich Waldes, Prague, 1918–1941; thence by descent to: Private Collection, New York Literature: Rudolf Kuchynka, “České obrazy tabulové ve Waldesově obrazárně,” Památky archeologické, vol. 31 (1919), pp. 62-64, fig. 5. Jaroslav Pešina, “K datování deskových obrazů ve Waldesově obrazárně,” Ročenka Kruhu pro Pěstování Dějin Umění: za rok (1934), pp. 131-137. Jaroslav Pešina, Pozdně gotické deskové malířství v Čechách, Prague, 1940, pp. 150-151, 220. Patrik Šimon, Jindřich Waldes: sběratel umění, Prague, 2001, pp. 166, 168, footnote 190. Ivo Hlobil, “Tři gotické obrazy ze sbírky Jindřicha Waldese,” Umění, vol. 52, no. 4 (2004), p. 369. Executed sometime in the 1380s or 1390s by a close associate of the Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece, this impressive panel is a rare work created at the royal court in Prague and a significant re-discovery for the corpus of early Bohemian painting. It has emerged from an American collection, descendants of the celebrated Czech industrialist and collector Jindřich Waldes, who died in Havana fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. The distinctive visual tradition of the Bohemian school first began to take shape in the middle of the fourteenth century after Charles IV—King of Bohemia and later Holy Roman Emperor—established Prague as a major artistic center. The influx of foreign artists and the importation of significant works of art from across Europe had a profound influence on the development of a local pictorial style. Early Italian paintings, especially those by Sienese painters and Tommaso da Modena (who worked at Charles IV’s court), had a considerable impact on the first generation of Bohemian painters. Although this influence is still felt in the brilliant gold ground and the delicate tooling of the present work, the author of this painting appears to be responding more to the paintings of his predecessors in Prague than to foreign influences. This Resurrection of Christ employs a compositional format that was popular throughout the late medieval period but was particularly pervasive in Bohemian painting. Christ is shown sitting atop a pink marble sarcophagus, stepping down onto the ground with one bare foot. He blesses the viewer with his right hand, while in his left he holds a triumphal cross with a fluttering banner, symbolizing his victory over death. Several Roman soldiers doze at the base of the tomb, except for one grotesque figure, who, beginning to wake, shields his eyes from the light and looks on with a face of bewilderment as Christ emerges from his tomb. Christ is wrapped in a striking red robe with a blue interior lining, the colors of which vary subtly in the changing light. He stands out prominently against the gold backdrop, which is interrupted only by the abstractly rendered landscape and trees on either side of him. The soldiers’ armor is rendered in exacting detail, the cool gray of the metal contrasting with the earth tones of the outer garments. The sleeping soldier set within a jumble of armor with neither face nor hands exposed, is covered with what appears to be a shield emblazoned with two flies on a white field, somewhat resembling a cartouche (Fig. 1). This may be a heraldic device of the altarpiece’s patron or it may signify evil, referencing either the Roman soldiers or death, over both of which Christ triumphs. This painting formed part of the collection assembled by the Czech industrialist and founder of the Waldes Koh-i-noor Company, Jindřich Waldes, in the early twentieth century. As a collector he is best remembered for establishing the Waldes Museum in Prague to house his collection of buttons (totaling nearly 70,000 items), as well as for being the primary patron of the modernist painter František Kupka. Waldes was also an avid collector of older art, and he approached his collecting activity with the goal of creating an encyclopedic collection of Czech art from the medieval period through to the then-present day. At the conclusion of two decades of collecting, his inventory counted 2331 paintings and drawings, 4764 prints, and 162 sculptures. This collection, which constituted the Waldesova Obrazárna (Waldes Picture Gallery), was first displayed in Waldes’ home in Prague at 44 Americká Street and later at his newly built Villa Marie at 12 Koperníkova Street. This Resurrection of Christ retains its frame from the Waldes Picture Gallery, including its original plaque “173 / Česky malíř z konce 14 stol.” (“Czech painter from the end of the 14th century”) and Waldes’ collection label on the reverse. The Resurrection of Christ was one of the most significant late medieval panel...

The Battle of the Novogorodians with the Suzdalians 16th century Size 50.5 x 47.5 x 3 cm. The icon is located in the Russian Federation. There is an expert opinion from leading R...

Provenance: Achillito Chiesa, Milan Luigi Albrighi, Florence, by 1 July 1955 with Marcello and Carlo Sestieri, Rome, 1969 Private Collection, Connecticut Exhibited: Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts (on loan, 2012) Literature: Carlo Volpe, “Alcune restituzioni al Maestro dei Santi Quirico e Giulitta,” in Quaderni di Emblema 2: Miscellanea di Bonsanti, Fahy, Francisci, Gardner, Mortari, Sestieri, Volpe, Zeri, Bergamo, 1973, pp. 19-20, fig. 18, as by the Master of Saints Quiricus and Julitta (now identified as Borghese di Piero). This fine predella panel depicting the Baptism...

Cristofano Rustici called il Rusticone was an artist active in Siena between the 16th and 17th century, son of Lorenzo Brazzi called il Rustico (Siena 1521-1572). Even if his artistic training started in the family workshop, he was mostly very influenced by the Flemish artist Bernhard van Rantwijk, who was also living in the Tuscan town at the same time. The subject of the four paintings are the Cardinal Virtues...

Antique late 18th Century Baroque, Netherlandish/Flemish Gilt Wood Triptych Painting, egg tempera on panel, circa 1780, "Saint Tobias and The Angel". The gilt wood case with iron strap hinges and gilded decoration, the central panel painted with an allegory of Saint Tobias. The triptych evidently influenced by the Italian Renaissance work of Verrocchio's altar painting...

This art piece is a Florentine Renaissance period fresco of late 1500 hand painted with egg tempera representing the temptation of Adam and Eve, this pivotal moment in the history of genesis is framed in an oval scrolled cartouche and flanked by architectural pillars featured as two sculptural male and female caryatids holding the entablature of the palazzo. This antique Italian old master...

A rare & important Italian Renaissance tempera on parchment painting, Giuseppe Cesari Il Cavalier d'Arpino (Giuseppe Cesari, 1568-1640), the painting c...

Francesco Zuccarelli (Pitigliano 1702 - Florence 1788) - River landscape with shepherds and herds. 31 x 46 cm without frame, 47.5 x 57 cm with frame. Tempera on paper, in giltwood ...

Scandinavian Family Portrait Artist 18th century 18th Century Scandinavian School Signature: Not signed Medium: Miniature Dimensions: Image size diameter 11 cm, frame size 19 x 16 cm

Tempera on paper, applied to hardboard. The biblical episode depicted, described in the book of Exodus, tells how young Moses, still at the court of the Pharaoh of Egypt, defends the...

Christian Charity is an original Old Master Painting realized in the first half of the XVII Century, most probably in the 1630s, by one of the pupils of the Italian artist Bernardo Strozzi...

Spanish school, circa 1400 The prophet Daniel Tempera on panel with gilding 35.1/4 x 10.5/8 in. (89.5 x 28 cm.) Condition: The painting has been recently stabilised and cleaned up. ...

Skull with Sacred Writings and Tablets of the Law is a superb and colorful tempera on cardboard, realized in 1766 by an anonymous artist of ...