Tyrolean School, circa 1490

Professor Franz Streber (1806-1864), Bad Tölz and Munich;
Bought by a private collector, probably between 1949 and the mid-1950s when he acquired other early pictures;
Thence by inheritance to his son, the present owner.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. There has been some worm infestation to the wood support; a repaired central vertical split is visible as well as smaller vertical splits along the bottom edge. The paint layer is slightly raised and vulnerable in some areas and there has been replaced loss to the top corners, left and right. There has been not inconsiderable abrasion to the gold ground revealing the warm ground beneath and Christ’s patterned coat shows wear near the Madonna’s left hand. Under U-V light small areas of retouching can be seen to the Madonna’s coat. The figures are well preserved and the paint here is in an almost untouched condition with subtle glazes and scumbles, particularly to the flesh tones, intact. Removing the discoloured varnish would improve the tonality. Offered in a gilt wood frame with some damage."
"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."

An old photograph kept at the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich records an old ascription to the Munich School, circa 1490.  Subsequently, this picture bore an attribution to Marx Reichlich (circa 1460-1520), a follower of Michael Pacher of whom little is known.  On the basis of the few autograph works known by him, this attribution seems unlikely.  Similarities with works by Pacher and his followers, together with the warm colouring, do however point to a likely origin in the Tyrol.

We are grateful to Dr. Ludwig Meyer for his help in researching and cataloguing this picture.¹  Dr. Meyer notes that the composition and the dress of the Virgin is based on a painting in Santa Maria del Popolo, possibly Byzantine or based on a Byzantine prototype, which was nonetheless declared by Pope Sixtus IV in 1478 to be a work of the Evangelist Saint Luke.  In the ensuing years a number of leading South German painters painted pictures of the subject that clearly derive from it.²  The present work is one such picture. 

1.  A copy of his research material, dated Munich 11 August 2009, is available on request.
2.  Holbein's painting of 1493 hangs in the parish church in Bad Oberdorf bei Hindeland, in the Allgäu.