Workshop of Cornelis Engelbrechtsz.

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 16 July 1980, lot 49 (as Cornelis Engelbrechtsz.).

The panel is uncut and rebated on all four edges on the reverse, and has a very faint convex bow. The painting is in reasonable overall condition. The panel has recently been cleaned and restored. The recent restoration fluoresces very strongly, especially in the sky and in the paler tones. The darker areas reveal only very small local spot retouchings. The painting surface has not suffered from wear and much original underdrawing is also visible. Offed in plain oak frame with a gilt slip in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A similar Deposition by the workshop of Engebrechtsz is on loan to the Yale University Art Gallery and was formerly with Julius Böhler in Munich.¹ The central figures of Christ, the Turk on the ladder who bears the weight of Christ's body, and the stoic upright figure of the man who holds Christ’s feet are similar in their poses and composition. The figure of Christ himself is bony but muscular and corresponds in modelling and physiognomy to the depiction of Christ on the Cross, also by Engebrechtsz's workshop, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.²

1. See J.P. Filedt Kok, W. Gibson and Y. Bruijnen, Cornelis Engebrechtsz., A Sixteenth-Century Leiden Artist and his Workshop, Turnhout 2014, pp. 204-05, cat. no. 33, reproduced in colour p. 126, fig. 119. 
2. Ibid, pp. 199-200, cat. no. 25, reproduced.