German, Upper Rhine, circa 1430-40

numbered: G1 and 83/19 on the reverse

Recorded in Strasbourg by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1854;
Collection Geheimrat Ottmar Strauss, Cologne, before 1928;
His forced sale Hugo Helbing Munich, 6-8 November 1934, lot 31 (where erroneously mentioned as being from a church in Oberwesel, Germany);
Sotheby's London, 10 March, 1983, lot 34;
Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (inv. no. 83/19);
Restituted to the heirs of Ottmar Strauss in 2010

E. Viollet-le-Duc, Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle, Paris, 1858, vol. I, pp. 14-15, fig. 2;
I. Futterer, 'Zur gotschen Plastik im Elsaß', Oberrheinische Kunst. Vierteljahresberichte der oberrheinischen Museen, vol. 3, 1928, p. 50;
I. Geisler, Die Plastik des 'Weichen Stils' am Oberrhein, Freiburg, 1952, p. 160;
'Badisches Landesmuseum. Neuerwerbungen 1983', Jahrbuch der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen in Baden-Württemberg, vol. 21, 1984, fig. 1;
E. Zimmermann, Die mittelalterlichen Bildwerke in Holz, Stein, Ton und Bronze mit ausgewählten Beispielen der Bauskulptur, cat. Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, 1985, pp. 134-37, no. 86

Overall the condition of the wood is good. There is wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. The polychromy has been removed. There is worming and minor splitting to the surface throughout consistent with material, with particular worming to the bottom left and a few splits that were stabilised with linen. There are original inserts to either side of the group and to the protrusion with the kneeling figures. There are several losses, including to the thumb and tips of the small fingers of the proper right hand of Christ, the toes and tips of the crown of the soul of the Virgin, the handle of Peter's bucket, the replaced proper left hand of the Apostle on the far right and the proper right forearm, part of the censer of the kneeling youth on the right and a lock of hair of the right kneeling figure in front of the bed. Replacements include the fingertips of several figures, a section of the face of the soul of the Virgin, a section of the top of the censer and the candle on the far left. The condition of the modern grey wood base (8 by 95 by 40cm.) is very good with some minor wear.
"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."

The importance of the present relief was recognised by the famous architect and historian Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who included a drawing of it in his famous 1854 Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française (fig. 1; op.cit.). The Death of the Virgin is represented as recorded in Voragine's Golden Legend, a book which matched the popularity of the Bible in the 15^th century. The story tells how the Apostles are miraculously transported to the dying Virgin's bed. As the missionaries mourn, night falls and tapers and lamps are lit. The Virgin contentedly observes the twelve Apostles when Christ appears. While his disciples look on, Christ takes the Virgin's soul in his arms and the two ascend to heaven.

The scene is rendered with a remarkable legibility and sense of pathos. The attendants are systematically lined up around the sleeping Virgin and are distinguished from one another by their different facial types, hairstyles, attributes and actions. Christ stands in their midst with his mother's soul on his arm, while, to his right, St. John leans over the Virgin. St. Peter can be recognised by the holy-water font and the aspergillum. The two kneeling elderly figures on the protrusion in front of the bed must be among the most moving figures in medieval sculpture.

As Jopek (op.cit) points out, the clear organisation of the group relies on wood sculpture from around 1400, such as the Apostles in the Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre Dame in Strasbourg which were carved in Alsace (see Geisler, op.cit. pl. 32-33) and a relief of the Nativity in the Staatlichen Museen Berlin (Geisler, op.cit. pl. 21). Further ancestry is provided by an early-14th-century French relief of the Death of the Virgin from the Château-musée de Saumur (inv. 919.13.4.1, see Le Pogam, op.cit.). These earlier devotional sculptures took on a more schematic form, with standardised figures, signs and gestures. However, the present relief reflects the artist's interest in realism of detail and emotion, linking this sculpture with that of the late Gothic masters such as Tilman Riemenschneider.

The group probably originates from the Upper Rhine area. In the Karlsruhe catalogue Zimmermann (op.cit.) compares the deep, undulating folds of the drapery and facial types of the figures in this relief to a female saint from the town of Glotterbach near Freiburg now in the Augustinermuseum (inv. no. S 26/10). A further Death of the Virgin on view at the Victoria and Albert museum (inv. no. 181-1896), which displays similarly individualized characters and the same impeccable attention to detail, is also thought to be Upper Rhenish. In his entry for the latter carving Jopek (op.cit.) mentions a third group of the same subject in situ in the St. Nicholas chapel in the Minster of Constance. The Upper Rhine was at the forefront of political and ecclesiastical reform in the late Middle Ages due to its geographical location and the incorporation of important cities such as Strasbourg and Constance.

RELATED LITERATURE
I. Geisler, Oberrheinische Plastik um 1400, Berlin, 1957, pp. 20-21, pl. 21, 32-33; D. Zinke, Bildwerke des Mittelalters und der Renaissance 1100-1530, cat. Augustinermuseum Freiburg, Munich, 1995, pp. 43-45, no. 17; Paul Halsall (ed.), "Medieval Sourcebook: The Golden Legend (Aurea Legenda). Compiled by Jacobus de Voragine, 1275. Englished by William Caxton, 1483", Fordham.edu, 2001, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/goldenlegend/GoldenLegend-Volume4.htm. Last accessed 19 May 2011; N. Jopek, German sculpture 1430-1540, cat. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2002, pp. 104-105, no. 47; P.-Y. Le Pogam and C. Vivet-Peclet, Les premiers retables (XIIe - début de XVe siècle). Une mise en scène du sacré, exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2009, pp. 126-127, no. 28