Attributed to Hendrick de Keyser

De Bouly, Paris, before 1970;

Jacques Petithory (1929-1992), Paris, before 1976

M. T. Fiorio and P. C. Marani, I Leonardeschi a Milano: fortuna e collezionismo, Milan, 1991, p.127, fig. 9

This intriguing bronze depicts the meeting of the Christ Child and Saint John the Baptist when Christ returned from Egypt. The subject is rare, it is broadly derived from Leonardo Da Vinci’s drawing of the Christ Child and Saint John the Baptist, circa 1490-1500, in the Royal Collection (inv. no. RL 12564). The subject was more widely represented in painting, as illustrated by the 16th-century Netherlandish artist Joos Van Cleve’s The Infants Jesus Christ and Saint John the Baptist Embracing, in the Art Institute of Chicago (inv. no. 1975.136). While the present figures are shown in embrace, Saint John the Baptist bites the finger of Christ whose face expresses discomfort, which is unique feature and can be linked to the oeuvre of one of the most prolific sculptors of the 17^th-century Netherlands, Hendrik de Keyser.

The finely chased surface, lively patina, and expression of Christ’s face relate to a bronze Bust of a Crying Child by de Keyser in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (inv. no. M.84.37). This bust demonstrates de Keyser’s interest and ability in conveying realistic emotions in depictions of children opposed to following the more conventional and idealised putto aesthetic. Further parallels can be drawn to de Keyser’s bronze crying putti on the tomb of William of Orange in Delft, arguably his most significant commission. The Christ Child’s deep frown and wrinkles surrounding his shut eyes are convincing and profound, and consistent with de Keyser’s approach.

This bronze is small in size opposed to the examples mentioned above. Charles Avery emphasized de Keyser’s interest in producing small scale bonzes by his article, 'Hendrick de Keyser as a sculptor of small bronzes’, which discusses several busts of noblemen circa 10cm. high.

RELATED LITERATURE

C. Avery, ‘Hendrick de Keyser as a sculptor of small bronzes’, reprinted in C. Avery, Studies in European Sculpture, London 1981, p. 175, figs. 18 and 19; F. Scholten, ‘Hendrick de Keyser’s Honey Thief’, The Rijksmuseum Bulletin, Amsterdam, 2015, pp.52-64