Master of the Gold Brocade: Madonna and Child, gold ground (gold leaf) and oil on panel, ca. 1500

Work: 29,7 x 20 cm (the painted surface)

Frame: 37 x 27 cm (the integral frame)

‘Master of the Gold Brocade’ or ‘Master of the Brocade Background’ are so-called ‘Notnamen’ given to the as yet unidentified artist who painted a number of works, mostly depicting the Madonna and Child. Their distinctive feature is a background of gold leaf that is made to look like the extremely costly, decorative fabric ‘brocade’, generally a combination of coloured silks and gold and silver threads. The artist was most probably active in the last decades of the 15th and/or the first years of the 16th century, possibly in Brussels. He must have had great success with variations on older types of Madonnas, among others Rogier van der Weyden’s well-known depictions of the Virgin with one bare breast.

In this creative variant on the Virgo Lactans type, showing the Virgin nourishing the Child, baby Jesus rests his head on Mary’s bare breast after having been fed. The peaceful and satisfied expression on the face of the young Christ, very clear despite the closed eyes, together with the tenderness shown by the Madonna create a perfect devotional image. This beautiful display of motherly love, an emotion well understandable for most mortals, must have been intended to evoke a deep adoration for the Virgin and the Son of God with the beholder.

Quite a few known pictures attributed to the Master of the Gold Brocade and his entourage show this composition, either in the same direction as the present work, or in mirror image. Only very few are in public collections, one being in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon (inv. CA T 57). This painting, with many others, shows the characteristics attributed to our master, apart from the signature background imitating gold brocade: the depiction of the hair with rather bold brushstrokes and accents in gold, the rather heavy and relatively rectangular folds on the clothes, the dark outlines of among others the fingers and noses, and the strong contrast between lighter and shadowy passages. And these characteristics are also evident in the present composition. However, this picture is also obviously the most subtle and detailed of the known versions in the rendering of the facial expressions of both protagonists, and the depiction of the hair and clothes. No other shows the same subtle tenderness in the display of emotions and gestures.

The re-emergence of this high-quality panel by the Master of the Gold Brocade is essential for our knowledge of the artist and should be regarded as the point of departure for further studies of this interesting phenomenon in the history of art. The present composition must have enjoyed some popularity as is indicated by a number of close copies by followers of our master: one was sold with Christie’s in New York on 19 April 2018, lot 200, and another was offered with Van Ham, Cologne, on 19 May 2017, lot 503.

The painting is accompanied by a certificate from Dr. Jaco Rutgers of 13 November 2022 (all observations done on the basis of an inspection of the original painting).

Provenance:

- With D.A. Hoogendijk & Co., Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

- Private collection, Belgium.

Ref.:

- Micheline Comblen-Sonkes, Les Primitifs Flamands 1, Corpus de la peinture des anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux au XVe siècle: Le Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon (2 vols.), Brussels, 1986, I, p. 239, n°14 (our painting is 'plus pictural' than most other works by the Master of the Gold Brocade).

Condition: (UV-checked)

- The work in good and hangable condition.

- The gold ground well preserved.

- The UV-light shows foremost the typical colour of the varnish, with small interventions (eg. the neck of the Madonna; see also the additional pictures).

- Authentic engaged frame.