Circle of Jan Gossaert called Mabuse

Anonymous sale, ("The Property of a Lady), London, Christie's, April 16, 1999, lot 93 (as Circle of Jan Gossaert).

Single panel is uncradled, ever so slightly bowed, and appears to be stable. Overall the picture presents a strong image with fine retention of paint surface, details, and coloration. Under a slightly glossy varnish. U.V. reveals some tiny retouches here and there in the flesh tones and in some of the drapery. There is a slightly larger patch of retouching at extreme right in red drapery of the soldier. These retouches have all been applied well. Picture is recommendable and may be hung as is. In a carved and black-painted wood frame.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The atypical shape and arched top of the panel support of this dramatic and intense rendering of the Betrayal of Christ suggests that it may have once formed part of a portable polyptych, much like the remarkable one in the Wernher Collection, London, which shows ten scenes from the Passion, beginning with the Arrest of Christ and ending with the Lamentation of the Virgin over her dead son.  (See London, National Gallery, The Image of Christ, February 26 – May 7, 2000, cat. no. 57, pp. 144-149, illustrated.) 

In addition to our panel, several other paintings depicting scenes from the life of Christ that may have formed part of the same polyptych and which appear to be by the same artist or workshop are known.  Of these paintings, two that Friedländer reproduces in his monograph on Jan Gossaert, a Deposition (formerly in the R. Traumann collection, Madrid) and a Crucifixion (formerly in the J. Stillwell collection, New York)¹ can be added to a work depicting Christ Before Pilate attributed to Hubert Goltzius (1526-1583), now in a private collection.  In these pictures and the present Betrayal of Christ, the figures' gestures and expressions are consistent, the format is the same (each has an arched top), and each measures almost exactly 32 by 26 cm.

 

1. In the catalogue, the attribution to Gossaert of the Deposition and the Crucifixion is doubted.  (See, M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Paintings, Jan Gossaert and Bernard van Orley, comments and notes by H. Pauwels and S. Herzog, volume VIII, Leiden 1972, p. 93 nos. 16 and 17, reproduced plate 23.