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10 - CORNELIS VAN CLEVE (Antwerp, 1520–1567) THE VIRGIN AND CHILD…
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Estimate €150,000 - €200,000
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Description
CORNELIS VAN CLEVE (Antwerp, 1520–1567) THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH THE INFANT SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST IN FRONT OF A BLUE CURTAIN Oak panel, single unjoined plank Cassetta frame, 16th-century Italian work The Virgin and Child with the infant Saint John the Baptist in front of a blue curtain, oak panel 63.80 x 51.20 cm - 25.1 x 20.2 in. PROVENANCE Koller Gallery, Zurich, 22 March 2024, lot 3016 (attributed to the studio of Cornelis van Cleve) Our panel is a valuable testimony to the introduction of the Italian High Renaissance into Flanders. The composition is inspired by a model by Andrea del Sarto, the Corsini Madonna, which was very popular in the 16th century; it is now lost, but known through various copies [1]. Whilst the motif is of Florentine origin, Cornelis van Cleve’s interpretation is Antwerp in character and reflects a Flemish sensibility: the clarity of the contours, the harmonious arrangement of the figures and the attention paid to decorative effects move away from Italian sfumato to favour a more precise and structured interpretation. Stricken with mental illness around 1550, Cornelis ceased painting shortly afterwards, and his work was long confused with that of his father, Joos van Cleve (1485–1541). As early as 1943, the art historian Max Jacob Friedländer had begun to establish an initial body of work by our artist [2], distinguishing it from that of his father. He emphasised his Italianate style, although he had not necessarily travelled to the Italian Peninsula, as numerous Italian models were circulating in Antwerp at the time. He reproduced another version of our composition featuring a landscape [3]. Another version with clouds behind the canopy is held at the Chrysler Museum of Art [4], notably incorporating a rounded plinth also present in our work. At its sale in Zurich in 2024, it was described as being from the workshop of Cornelis van Cleve, following consultation with the specialist John Hand, an opinion he had given based on a photograph. We would like to thank John Hand for kindly confirming the authenticity of this painting by email, based on a digital photograph, on 31 March 2026, and for confirming that it indeed belongs to the group established by Max J. Friedländer under the name of Cornelis van Cleve. [1] John Sherman, Andrea del Sarto, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1965, no. 32, pp. 217–119. [2] MJ Friedländer, ‘Nachtträgliches zu Cornelis van Cleve’, in Oud Holland, LX, 1943, pp. 7–14; Early Netherlandish Painting, IXa, 1972, pp. 44, 49–50, 72–74. [3] Auction in Vienna, Dorotheum, 27 April 2013, lot 566; and sale in Paris, Artcurial, 26 November 2024, lot 14. [4] Donated by the Irene Leache Memorial Collection, inv. no. 2014.3.4
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About the sale OLD PAINTINGS
Auction location
Auction time 06/16/2026 at 6:00 PM
Pictures modified on 06/12/2026 at 2:26 PM
Lot description modified on 06/12/2026 at 2:28 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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