Bohemian, probably Prague, circa 1400-1420

Overall the condition of the wood is good with dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are losses to the Virgin's crown due to past worming. Further evidence of non-active worming is visible, leading to minor losses, including to the blue of the Virgin's drapery, the Virgin's shoulders, her chest, and the drapery falling from her proper left arm. There are larger losses due to worming at the back. There is wear to the polychromy, including flaking, throughout. There is also craquelure, in particular to the flesh tones. There is a particular loss to the polychromy to Christ's forehead. The polychromy has been refreshed and stabilised in most areas. Two sections on the underside of the base have been added later. There is stable splitting to the wood consistent with the material, notably a split running from below the Virgin's proper right hand down the drapery to the end of the folds falling from her proper right side. Christ's proper right hand and elbow, his proper left arm, and the Virgin's proper left hand are carved separately and joints are visible. There are several chips and minor losses to the edges of the drapery and to the base. There is a metal mount at the back.
"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."

Schöne Madonnen, or Beautiful Madonnas, are among the most recognisable and sought-after works of art from a distinctive artistic movement that emerged around 1400 in Europe. Throughout the continent, artists departed from the generally more expressive style of the 14th century and introduced a more refined language. It focused on decorative effects, which were meant to evoke a fairy-tale environment for the onlooker. Graceful silhouettes, a calm charm and, famously, a voluminous drapery style characterised by sinuous cascading folds became the leitmotivs of the style, as exemplified in this enchanting Virgin and Child. Today this phenomenon is referred to as the International Gothic, a term coined by Otto Pächt in 1962 (op. cit., p. 53).

At the cradle of the International Gothic stood the House of Luxembourg, the ruling family of Bohemia. In the second half of the 14th century it employed the architect Peter Parler from Cologne and a group of manuscript illuminators who would introduce many of the style’s distinctive traits. During the early stages, images of the Virgin in particular were laden with a supernatural grace, which was distinctly human at the same time. This coincided with the fresh resurgence of the Marian cult in which new texts celebrated Mary’s physical beauty as a reflection of her spiritual beauty (Guillot de Suduiraut, op. cit., pp. 27-28).

This environment also gave rise to the prototypes for the Beautiful Madonnas: the statues of the Virgin and Child from Krumlau, Pilzen and Altenmarkt. Their grace was achieved through a set of stylistic traits that would come to characterise all the Schöne Madonnen and influenced sculpture as far afield as London, Paris, Avignon and Barcelona. The Virgin was represented with a pronounced contraposto supporting a usually very lively Child on Her hip with both hands.  His position counterbalances the sway of his mother. Swathes of drapery suspended from one or both arms were given volume and lightness by arranging them in zig-zag folds. Lastly, both the Virgin and the Child have an expression and physiognomy with a somewhat grave sweetness, lending to the figures the noble air for which the Beautiful Madonnas have become so well known.

The present group exhibits many of the characteristics of the Bohemian stone prototypes from which it is derived. The pose, in particular the positioning of the Christ Child, relates closely to the Altenmarkt Madonna. This Madonna also displays the broadly arranged faces of the present Virgin and Child, as well as the pronounced carving of their eyelids. The way in which the drapery falls luxuriantly from the Virgin’s arms, on the other hand, is paralleled by the Madonnas in Krumlau and Pilzen. A further comparison may be drawn with a Schöne Madonna that was made in Salzburg and remains in the Pfarrkirche in Bad Aussee, Austria. Not only is the positioning almost identical, albeit mirror-inversed, the colour scheme of the polychromy and notably the densely cascading folds compare well with the present group. Salzburg had eagerly absorbed the exciting new style from nearby Bohemia, yet imbued it with a heavy broadness of appearance. It is in this respect that the present Virgin differs from the Bad Aussee Madonna. Contrasting with examples from Salzburg, her gracefully slim silhouette, with only a hint of the S-curve that is so typical of the Beautiful Madonnas, recalls another Bohemian Virgin and Child, that from St Elisabeth in Wroclaw, now in the National Museum in Warsaw. Distinguished by her soft, doll-like features and intricately carved curls of hair, the present Schöne Madonna is therefore more likely to originate from Bohemia, the birthplace of her kind.

RELATED LITERATURE
O. Pächt, Europäische Kunst um 1400. Achte Ausstellung unter den Auspizien der Europarates, exh. cat. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 1962, p. 53; A. Legner, Spätgotik in Salzburg. Skulptur und Kunstgewerbe 1400-1530, exh. cat. Neuen Haus, Salzburg, 1976, pp. 59, 61; S. Guillot de Suduiraut (ed.), Sculptures allemandes de la fin du Moyen Age dans les collections publiques françaises 1400-1530, exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1991, pp. 27-30, 50-51, 55-58; G. Schmidt, ‘The Beautiful Style’, B. Drake Boehm and J. Fajt (eds.), Prague. The Crown of Bohemia 1347-1437, exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and Prague Castle, New Haven/ London, 2005, pp. 105-111; R. Suckale, Schöne Madonnen am Rhein, Leipzig, 2009, p. 85