56 - Maestro del figliol prodigo (attribuito a)

Maestro del figliol prodigo (attribuito a) (attivo ad Anversa nel secondo terzo del XVI secolo) Elijah taken up into Heaven Oil on canvas cm. 92x133,5. Framed The painting depicts the Ascension of the Prophet Elijah, carried up to Heaven in a chariot of fire as he parts from his disciple Elisha, who catches his mantle (IV Kings 2:9–12). Beyond the Jordan River, witnesses observe the event, while Jerusalem is rendered with typically Roman architectural elements, following a convention widespread in early sixteenth-century painting; a mitred abbot’s coat of arms at lower right may indicate the original patron. The refined composition is attributed to the Master of the Prodigal Son, active in Antwerp between c.1530 and 1560 and among the leading figures of Flemish Renaissance painting. His work combines Italian influences with pronounced Raphael-inspired elements in the treatment of figures and composition. The attribution is supported by comparisons with works including the Works of Mercy in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes, the Return of Tobias in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Ghent, and Esther before Ahasuerus at the Hôpital Sainte-Elisabeth, Lier. Private collection, Rome.