Follower of Hieronymus Bosch, circa 1600

With Samuel Hartveld, New York, 1948;
Bart and Mary van Berg, New York;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 8 October 1969, lot 14;
Acquired at the above sale by Dr. E. Evans;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 30 October 1985, lot 74;
Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 17 April 1986, lot 23;
There acquired by the present collector.

B. Sweeny (ed.), John G. Johnson collection: catalogue of Flemish and Dutch paintings, Philadelphia 1972, p. 10, under cat. no. 353 (as a copy after a lost original by Hieronymus Bosch);
B. Völker,  Die Entwicklung des erzählenden Halbfigurenbildes in der niederländischen Malerei des 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts, PhD. Dissertation, Göttingen University, 1975, vol. II, p. 10, cat. no. 44/5;
G. Unverfehrt, Hieronymus Bosch: d. Rezeption seiner Kunst im frühen 16. Jh., Berlin 1980, p. 267, cat. no. 66a/d and cat. no. 66a/b.

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 work on panel has been cradled. The cradle seems to be functioning well. The panel is flat and the paint layer is stable. The paint layer is visibly dirty. Under ultraviolet light, one can see a few retouches in the bottom of Christ's hair on the left of his shoulders. Because of the dirty old varnish, no other restorations are visible under ultraviolet light. There seem to be three original joins in the panels. There is one running vertically to the right of Christ's hands, another running vertically through the middle of the picture, and one through the hand in the upper left. There are retouches in the white sleeve in the lower right, in the green fabric in the lower left, and above the foot in the lower left. The beard of the gentleman on the far left seems to show retouches. It seems that this work can be cleaned, with a very modest amount of restoration that would need to be reconsidered.
"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."

The composition derives from Hieronymus Bosch's Christ Mocked (circa 1510, National Gallery, London).  Other versions can be found in the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp.¹

1. See D. Buzzati, L'opera completa di Bosch, Milan, 1966, p. 111, cat. nos. 55-57, and B. Sweeny, in Literature, p. 10, cat, no 353.