Search Request | Object report
The Holy Family with St John, St Elisabeth and the Angels
Lost Art-ID
1277
Artist
Wtewael, Joachim Antonisz
Birth
(um) 1566, Utrecht
Death
1638.08.01, Utrecht
Place of activity
Utrecht; Padua
First mentioned
(um) 1541
Title
The Holy Family with St John, St Elisabeth and the Angels
Datierung
1603
Object type
Group of reported objects
Material / Technique
oil paint : copper / painted
Measures
34 cm Höhe mit Rahmen; 29 cm Breite mit Rahmen; 5 cm Tiefe gesamt
Height
21.00 cm
Width
15.70 cm
Depth
5.00 cm
Weight
1000.00 g
Inventory number
SG 1426 (Ahv 7)
Description
Oil sketch, with the signature and date inscribed on the back; Mary sits in front of a straw hut and - in spite of the unruly Christ child - reads a book held by the small John on St Anne's lap; she is in the act of turning round and staring at the angels who float down bearing flowers and fruits; two taller angels are singing by the Child, a third one, being of female form, plays the harp; on the right, St Joseph with his saw sits under a rafter roof and points to the sky; in the background, a Roman temple can be seen through a gateway; remains of columns are placed in the foreground; the exaggerated and affected movements as well as the polychrome colouring show the painter as a pupil of the Italian mannerists.
Provenance
Bought under duke August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (cf. 1826 paintings inventory). The painting was stolen by a member of the Red Army at the beginning of 1946 (from Reinhardsbrunn or the Ducal Museum); via several intermediate stations auction house Sotheby's London in 1992. The right of ownership was decided in a trial lasting several years, which can be regarded as a precedent, since Hon Justice Moses decided at the end of 1998 that the claim for restitution to the original owner was not time-barred and that the work should therefore be returned to Gotha. On loan from the Federal Republic of Germany since 1999.
Status
restituted
Literature / Source
Inventar 1826 (Verzeichnis), Abt. IX, Nr. 56; Inventar 1854 Schneider, Abt. VIII, Nr. 57
Published since
Contact
Stiftung Schloss Friedenstein
Gotha
Schlossplatz 1
99867 Gotha
Germany
Phone
0049 (0) 03621 8234-0
Fax
0049 (0) 03621 8234-290
Contact
Dr. Timo Trümper
Position
Kustode für Gemälde und Plastik
Phone
+49 (0) 3621 8234 553
Contact
Dr. Tobias Pfeifer-Helke
Position
Stiftungsdirektor
Phone
+49 (0) 621-8234 100
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