South German School, circa 1520s-1530s

Collection of Herr Landgerichtsrat Rudolf Peltzer, Cologne, 1914 (as by Suabian School);
Dr. Paul Weschner;
By whom anonymously sold ("Property of a Swiss Collector"), New York, American Art Association, April 30, 1936, lot 63 for $350 (as by the Master of the Violet).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This panel has been cradled on the reverse. The cradle seems to support the panel quite well. The panel is made from four sections of wood joined vertically. The joins are level and stable. The paint layer is also stable and has only shown very slight loss in the past, a fair amount of it concentrated on the far right side in the green cloak of the female figure. This picture is structurally in good condition. The retouches are not of particularly high quality but they are quite sparingly applied and are clearly visible under ultraviolet light. This picture is in good state, particularly given its age and although there is a little thinness in the shelf of the archway above the central figures and there is a transparent feeling to the paint in many places, a good deal of this is intentional. If the restoration were more carefully and thoughtfully applied, the condition would be seen to be in very good state. The fact that the panel is stable and will remain so, is a credit to the picture.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This painting, ascribed to the Master of the Violet (Zürcher Veilchenmeister) in the 1936 auction (see Provenence), appears to be by an artist working in the lower Rhine region around Cologne.  The unusual physiognomy of the figures with the elongated heads, large foreheads and pointy chins can be found in works by the Master of St. Severin (active in Cologne circa 1485-1515) and this may be a work by an artist in his circle.