Lot 502 | South German School | Mary with the Christ Child

SOUTH GERMAN SCHOOL
ca. 1500
Title: Mary with the Christ Child.
Technique: Limewood, polychrome painted, hollowed out on the back.
Height: 82cm.

Provenance:
Private ownership, Germany.

Mary holds on her left knee the naked baby Jesus, who reaches fascinated for an open book, which she holds in her right hand. She is dressed in a tight dress, which spreads under a belt wrinkles. The loose golden cloak slung over her shoulder is blue on the inside.
Mary's face, with a high forehead after the fashion of the early 16th century, is framed by hair falling flat in two strands, held together at the brow by a narrow, torsoed band.
Iconographically, this is a relatively rare depiction, as the subject, Mary with the infant Jesus and a book does not occur frequently in this figure.
Stylistically, the figure is likely to have been created in Bavaria in the early 16th century.
The style of the enthroned Mother of God, the flat hair, the high forehead and the structure of the folds indicate influence of the important sculptor, mainly working in Landshut sculptor Hans Leinberger (around 1470/1480 - 1531). The sculpture was probably created in the wider circle of this sculptor.