Deutscher Maler des 17. Jahrhunderts

Pair of paintingsCHRISTI BIRTH WITH ADORATION OF THE SHEPHERDS and ADORATION OF THE HOLY THREE KINGS Oil on copper plate. Each approx. 33.5 x 28.5 cm. Each in upright rectangular format with ruined architecture and densely populated and freshly composed staffage of figures, whose gazes and gestures are directed centrally towards the infant Jesus in the Adoration of the Shepherds, while the other painting also allows for a togetherness of well-wishers and marvelers, with the infant Jesus as the catcher of meaning being given a round column to guide the viewer's eye. Annotation: The two densely placed compositions are based on older Flemish and Dutch models, which were used as set pieces, whereby the cultural transfer may have taken place by means of copperplate printing. These include a painting by Cornelis van Poelenburgh (RKD no. 115739), and above all a popular composition by Arthus Wolfort, which has survived in the painting in the "Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, Antwerp, inv./cat.nr 439" and sometimes also shows a column, which has been modified in our painting. In the engravings, this is often part of the stable in which Jesus is born and can be seen as a reference to the renewal of the Old Covenant through the New Covenant. In a copperplate engraving by Johann Peter Goffart, for example, which also depicts the Adoration of the Magi, the connection between the pillar and the stable, or, conversely, the installation of an architectural ruin, is even more striking. In the present painting, two children play around the round column, whereby the lower child appears to be somewhat older and the upper one somewhat younger. It could be a foreshadowing of Jesus and John, whereby the forearm of the presumed John could be interpreted as a reflective glow on the pillar of a cross staff pointing to him. (1171614) (13) German School, 17th century A pair of paintings NATIVITY WITH ADORATION OF THE ANGELS and ADORATION OF THE THREE MAGI Oil on copper plate. Approx. 33.5 x 28.5 cm each.