Description
High relief in oak representing the Virgin and Child Surrounding Conrad Meit (1480 -1551), first half of the 16th century Resting on a rectangular base, the reverse side bearing a paper label with the number 84 and an inscription painted in red E. V. OVERBEKE Height: 48 cm - Width: 31 cm. Provenance: former collection E. Van Overbeke, Brussels, then by family descent, kept in a castle in Sologne. Expert: Isabelle d'Amecourt. The Madonna here is a characteristic example of a new type of representation of the Mother and Child, conceived as a bust and not as the upper part of a full-length statue. This conception was inspired by Italian models in terracotta or polychrome stucco developed during the 15th century and is expressed plastically by the arrangement of the drapery which determines a real base and underlines, as here, the closed character of the composition. The long, wavy hair, the child's modelling, the almond-shaped eyes, the delicate smile, the tight-fitting dress with its decorated neckline and gathered sleeves, the shape of her bust and a cloak, a part of which is returned to the front, are stylistic and characteristic features which we can associate with the artist Conrad Meit. The theme of the Virgin and Child dominates his work and we find similarities in the composition, the strongly waved hair and the gathered sleeves with his Virgin and Child in marble from the cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula in Brussels (Inv.Nr.75.103). Conrad Meit is mentioned around 1505 working in Saxony in Wittenberg for the Elector Frederick the Wise in Cranach's workshop. He moved to the Netherlands, where he married in 1514, and entered the service of the regent Margaret of Austria for whom he executed several sculptures. As a sculptor at the court of Margaret of Austria in Mechelen, Meit was one of the main promoters of the Renaissance style, noted for his fusion of German realism and Italian idealism. His masterpiece remains the fabulous tombs of the collegiate church of Saint-Nicolas de Tolentin in Brou. Comparative bibliography: - München, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, 1. Dezember 2006 bis 18. März 2007, Conrat Meit: Bildhauer der Renaissance, "desgleichen ich kein gesehen, Jens Ludwig Burk, Renate Eikelmann, Hirmer, 2006. - Beaulieu Michèle. A sculpture by Conrad Meit? In: Bulletin Monumental, volume 140, n°4, year 1982. pp. 342-343 Expert : Isabelle d'Amecourt A carved oak relief of the Virgin and Child, circle of Conrad Meit (1480-1551), first half 16th century Condition report General minor chips, losses and scratches consistent with age and handling. Few vertical shrinkage splits. Old restorations with wood fragments addition to few areas: to a section of the curl hair to the proper right side of the Virgin, the upper section of the cross, and the right lower left of Christ. Two carved elements seem to have been added to the proper right side of the relief and the front left side. Traces of old woodworm. Good and stable condition overall
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High relief in oak representing the Virgin and Child Surrounding Conrad Meit (1480 -1551), first half of the 16th century Resting on a rectangular base, the reverse side bearing a paper label with the number 84 and an inscription painted in red E. V. OVERBEKE Height: 48 cm - Width: 31 cm. Provenance: former collection E. Van Overbeke, Brussels, then by family descent, kept in a castle in Sologne. Expert: Isabelle d'Amecourt. The Madonna here is a characteristic example of a new type of representation of the Mother and Child, conceived as a bust and not as the upper part of a full-length statue. This conception was inspired by Italian models in terracotta or polychrome stucco developed during the 15th century and is expressed plastically by the arrangement of the drapery which determines a real base and underlines, as here, the closed character of the composition. The long, wavy hair, the child's modelling, the almond-shaped eyes, the delicate smile, the tight-fitting dress with its decorated neckline and gathered sleeves, the shape of her bust and a cloak, a part of which is returned to the front, are stylistic and characteristic features which we can associate with the artist Conrad Meit. The theme of the Virgin and Child dominates his work and we find similarities in the composition, the strongly waved hair and the gathered sleeves with his Virgin and Child in marble from the cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula in Brussels (Inv.Nr.75.103). Conrad Meit is mentioned around 1505 working in Saxony in Wittenberg for the Elector Frederick the Wise in Cranach's workshop. He moved to the Netherlands, where he married in 1514, and entered the service of the regent Margaret of Austria for whom he executed several sculptures. As a sculptor at the court of Margaret of Austria in Mechelen, Meit was one of the main promoters of the Renaissance style, noted for his fusion of German realism and Italian idealism. His masterpiece remains the fabulous tombs of the collegiate church of Saint-Nicolas de Tolentin in Brou. Comparative bibliography: - München, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, 1. Dezember 2006 bis 18. März 2007, Conrat Meit: Bildhauer der Renaissance, "desgleichen ich kein gesehen, Jens Ludwig Burk, Renate Eikelmann, Hirmer, 2006. - Beaulieu Michèle. A sculpture by Conrad Meit? In: Bulletin Monumental, volume 140, n°4, year 1982. pp. 342-343 Expert : Isabelle d'Amecourt A carved oak relief of the Virgin and Child, circle of Conrad Meit (1480-1551), first half 16th century Condition report General minor chips, losses and scratches consistent with age and handling. Few vertical shrinkage splits. Old restorations with wood fragments addition to few areas: to a section of the curl hair to the proper right side of the Virgin, the upper section of the cross, and the right lower left of Christ. Two carved elements seem to have been added to the proper right side of the relief and the front left side. Traces of old woodworm. Good and stable condition overall
