Provenance :
Private collection
In both the rendering of the Virgin Mary’s face and the tenderness that emanates from this filial painting, this Virgin and Child is characteristic of the work...
read moreProvenance :
Private collection
In both the rendering of the Virgin Mary’s face and the tenderness that emanates from this filial painting, this Virgin and Child is characteristic of the work of the Master of the Prodigal Son, a 16th century painter from Antwerp.
Particular to this artist’s style, the Virgin has extremely feminine, fine and delicate features. Portrayed down to her waist, she is dressed in rich clothing. The complexity of the folds allows the artist to draw the viewer’s attention to his talent. Revisiting the traditional version of Mary’s attire, the Master embellishes it with a fur collar, as well as a fabric cord tied around the model’s waist. The soft pink cheeks, the long, fine nose, the slightly rounded eyelids, the round chin and slender fingers are all typical elements of the Master of the Prodigal Son’s style. The finesse of this work can also be seen in his rendering of the Virgin’s and the Child’s blonde hair, forming small golden curls, harmoniously arranged at the top of their foreheads. His mastery of colour and, consequently, light and shade effects, allows the artist to give the characters’ complexions a marble aspect. As for the Virgin and Child, they stand out against a neutral and opaque background with a startling intensity.
As in many of the Master’s paintings, the Christ Child has an incredible aura of lightness. He is resting on his mother’s knee, giving us the impression of floating against her. He firmly grips an apple in his hand, a reminder of the original sin. As for the Virgin, she grasps the prayer book at her side, whose illuminated letters are perfectly visible. This book lies on a small shelf where symbolic cherries have been placed: these juicy red balls are not simply there by chance; they represent the future Passion.
Typical of the production of the mid-16th century, this painting harmoniously synthesises religious painting and the influence of the Italian school on Antwerp. Just like the version kept at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, this Virgin and Child by the Master of the Prodigal Son poetically tells us of the love and complicity that united Christ with his mother. Besides the religious subject, the artist provides us here with the tender portrait of a mother with her child.
Active in Antwerp during the second third of the 16th century
This master’s works have been brought together around a major painting in Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Prodigal son...
read moreActive in Antwerp during the second third of the 16th century
This master’s works have been brought together around a major painting in Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Prodigal son with courtesans, after having been wrongly attributed to Jan Mandijn, Anthonis van Palermo and lastly, Lenaert Kroes. He was a romanist painter and partly influenced by international mannerism. The heightened realism of his characters is reminiscent of Pieter Aertsen and the affected elegance of his feminine figures, of Jan Massys and Frans Floris. His key works – the Works of mercy and Satan sowing tares – are kept at the museums in Valenciennes and Antwerp respectively. These paintings are characterised by the cheerful attitude of certain figures, the large hands at the end of slender bodies and by the emaciated faces of the aged characters.
The subjects dealt with by this anonymous master are quite extensive. Besides the traditional religious themes such as the Virgin and Child (Cleveland and Vienna), the Adoration of the shepherds after Raphael (private collection, Brussels), and a Pieta in London’s National Gallery, he also portrays scenes from the Old Testament, such as the Return of Tobias (museum in Ghent) as well as rare genre paintings, such as the Old man in love in the museum in Douai. Small characters slip into some of the paintings, especially in the Flight to Egypt (museum in Tournai), Christ and the pilgrims of Emmaus (museum in Warsaw); the realistic yet original landscape featured therein is painted in light tones, including bright greens, reds and soft pinks. Conversely, the large figures in other paintings, Lot and his daughters (museum in Antwerp), or Susanna and the elders (museum in Porto) have a sculptural relief, and the feminine complexions have a marble sheen. Some of his paintings were produced in large numbers, which leads us to believe that the Master of the Prodigal Son was at the head of a flourishing and highly productive studio in Antwerp, with many assistants working for him.
