LE MAÎTRE DES DEMI-FIGURES Actif à Anvers et Malines vers 1520-1550

Nativity Oak panel with parquet floor 43 x 32 cm The Master of the Half-Figures was an anonymous Dutch painter active in the Antwerp-Mechelen region in the first half of the 16th century (c. 1520-1550). His name was coined in the 19th century in reference to his many half-body representations of religious or antique figures, mostly female, including Mary, Joseph, Saint Jerome and Lucretia. The Master also distinguished himself by depicting biblical scenes such as the Visitations, Nativities and Crucifixions. His softly contoured figures are set in landscapes where the painter employs atmospheric perspective, creating the illusion of depth through the gradual gradation of colors, and punctuating them with typical architectural elements such as hilltop castles in the background. In its construction, our painting can be compared with other compositions on the same theme, including one in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Strasbourg (Fig. 1), one sold in Vienna (Dorotheum) on March 4, 1996, no. 118 (wood, 56 x 41 cm) and a third also sold in Vienna (Dorotheum) on June 11, 1996, no. 216 (wood, 65 x 65 cm).