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Legende
Jan Sanders van Hemessen (1490/1510 – 1556/1579)
CHRIST AS TRIUMPHANT REDEEMER
c. 1645
Oil on oak, height: 77 cm, width: 58,5 cm
PROVENANCE
Ruef Art Auctions, Munich, 24 November 2017 (as Italian School, seventeenth century)
Sotheby's, New York, January 30th, 2019, Lot 17
The painting Christ as Triumphant Redeemer is a new addition to the great master Jan Sanders van Hemessen’s oeuvre. It was completely overpainted until recently.
Hemessen expert Peter van den Brink describes the discovery as follows: “After removal of the unusual amount of overpaint a different Christ emerged.
And not only that, the original paint layer turned out to be in excellent condition, apart from some tiny losses around Christ’s mouth and along the seam between the first two boards on the left. The powerful rendition of the painted figure, its monumentality, and the extremely convincing portrayal of Christ’s naked body points in one direction only: the picture was painted by Jan Sanders van Hemessen (1490/1510–1556/1579). [1] Unlike many of his fellow painters in Antwerp, Hemessen was especially outstanding with nude figures on a larger scale, no doubt influenced by Italian contemporary painting he must have studied during a trip to Italy in the 1520s. Painters like Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, or Raphael must have had an enormous impact on the young artist, who, more than any other painter of his world, was able to transform his Italian models into a new northern vocabulary.
Hemessen focused on monumental, powerful nudes, often playing with exaggerated poses, taken from the great mannerist painters in Italy and Fontainebleau, such as Giulio Romano, Francesco Primaticcio, and especially Rosso Fiorentino, as can be judged from his downright spectacular Judith with the Head of Holofernes in the Art Institute of Chicago that is based directly on a model by Rosso Fiorentino.” [2] The present painting also shows Christ in a somewhat exalted nudity.
The overpaint protecting the original composition for several centuries came off well. Van den Brink continues: “Its removal revealed a surface that presented itself in a pristine condition, apart from the fact that it must have been slightly larger, especially towards the right and bottom edge, less so on the left, whereas the upper edge may actually be original.” An uncropped, yet clearly less convincing version of Christ as Triumphant Redeemer, most probably executed by one of Hemessen’s successors, has been auctioned at Hampel Fine Art Auctions in Munich in 2018.
The oak panel has been examined by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein. The dendrochronological analysis of the oak boards shows that the picture dates from after 1541. Van den Brink as regards the dating of the work: “The picture was painted after 1541, later than the work in Linz (Man of Sorrows, signed and dated 1540, Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum, Linz, Austria), probably around 1547. [3] – That in itself is not really a surprise. Close observation of Christ’s right hand indicates that in the original layout the fingers were planned to be somewhat longer, as in Christ’s right hand in the painting in Linz. The correction, which was doubtlessly a great improvement, puts the present picture most certainly after the 1540 dated Christ in Linz. A date around 1545 seems to fit the picture best.”
Van den Brink emphasizes that “Christ is not portrayed here as the Man of Sorrows. His self-assured upright pose and the presentation of his wounds are a demonstration of His triumph over death, and the heavenly light above him marks Christ as the Redeemer of the World. [4] In all probability, Hemessen’s portrayal of Christ as Savior must be seen as a significant reference to the upcoming Counter-Reformation.”
Van den Brink’s résumé: “This recently discovered painting of Christ the Redeemer must have been painted when Hemessen was at the zenith of his powers around 1545. Not much is known about the picture’s function, but it may have functioned as a counterpart of a Virgin Mary, a painting that is no longer known. Although the painting seems to have been cut on three sides, its pristine condition and superb craftsmanship do not allow to question its authorship as that of Jan Sanders van Hemessen.”
Jan Sanders van Hemessen
Jan Sanders van Hemessen was born in Hemessen near Antwerp around 1490/1510 and died around 1556/1579. He began to study with Hendrick van Cleve I in 1519 and became a master around 1524. He joined the artists’ guild of Saint Luke in 1524, whose dean he became in 1548. In 1544, he and three of his colleagues had to leave the city as they were suspected to be members of the Loïst sect. He is supposed to have lived in Haarlem after 1550.
Hemessen is regarded as one of the most prominent Flemish Renaissance painters and belongs to the group of Romanists. He visited Italy in the 1520s and Fontainebleau in the mid-1530s. He played a significant role in the development of genre painting, devoting himself to large-format religious and secular scenes. He also painted a small number of outstanding portraits.
CHRIST AS TRIUMPHANT REDEEMER
c. 1645
Oil on oak, height: 77 cm, width: 58,5 cm
PROVENANCE
Ruef Art Auctions, Munich, 24 November 2017 (as Italian School, seventeenth century)
Sotheby's, New York, January 30th, 2019, Lot 17
The painting Christ as Triumphant Redeemer is a new addition to the great master Jan Sanders van Hemessen’s oeuvre. It was completely overpainted until recently.
Hemessen expert Peter van den Brink describes the discovery as follows: “After removal of the unusual amount of overpaint a different Christ emerged.
And not only that, the original paint layer turned out to be in excellent condition, apart from some tiny losses around Christ’s mouth and along the seam between the first two boards on the left. The powerful rendition of the painted figure, its monumentality, and the extremely convincing portrayal of Christ’s naked body points in one direction only: the picture was painted by Jan Sanders van Hemessen (1490/1510–1556/1579). [1] Unlike many of his fellow painters in Antwerp, Hemessen was especially outstanding with nude figures on a larger scale, no doubt influenced by Italian contemporary painting he must have studied during a trip to Italy in the 1520s. Painters like Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, or Raphael must have had an enormous impact on the young artist, who, more than any other painter of his world, was able to transform his Italian models into a new northern vocabulary.
Hemessen focused on monumental, powerful nudes, often playing with exaggerated poses, taken from the great mannerist painters in Italy and Fontainebleau, such as Giulio Romano, Francesco Primaticcio, and especially Rosso Fiorentino, as can be judged from his downright spectacular Judith with the Head of Holofernes in the Art Institute of Chicago that is based directly on a model by Rosso Fiorentino.” [2] The present painting also shows Christ in a somewhat exalted nudity.
The overpaint protecting the original composition for several centuries came off well. Van den Brink continues: “Its removal revealed a surface that presented itself in a pristine condition, apart from the fact that it must have been slightly larger, especially towards the right and bottom edge, less so on the left, whereas the upper edge may actually be original.” An uncropped, yet clearly less convincing version of Christ as Triumphant Redeemer, most probably executed by one of Hemessen’s successors, has been auctioned at Hampel Fine Art Auctions in Munich in 2018.
The oak panel has been examined by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein. The dendrochronological analysis of the oak boards shows that the picture dates from after 1541. Van den Brink as regards the dating of the work: “The picture was painted after 1541, later than the work in Linz (Man of Sorrows, signed and dated 1540, Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum, Linz, Austria), probably around 1547. [3] – That in itself is not really a surprise. Close observation of Christ’s right hand indicates that in the original layout the fingers were planned to be somewhat longer, as in Christ’s right hand in the painting in Linz. The correction, which was doubtlessly a great improvement, puts the present picture most certainly after the 1540 dated Christ in Linz. A date around 1545 seems to fit the picture best.”
Van den Brink emphasizes that “Christ is not portrayed here as the Man of Sorrows. His self-assured upright pose and the presentation of his wounds are a demonstration of His triumph over death, and the heavenly light above him marks Christ as the Redeemer of the World. [4] In all probability, Hemessen’s portrayal of Christ as Savior must be seen as a significant reference to the upcoming Counter-Reformation.”
Van den Brink’s résumé: “This recently discovered painting of Christ the Redeemer must have been painted when Hemessen was at the zenith of his powers around 1545. Not much is known about the picture’s function, but it may have functioned as a counterpart of a Virgin Mary, a painting that is no longer known. Although the painting seems to have been cut on three sides, its pristine condition and superb craftsmanship do not allow to question its authorship as that of Jan Sanders van Hemessen.”
[1] On Hemessen, see Burr Wallen, Jan van Hemessen. An Antwerp Painter between Reform and Counter-Reform (Ann Arbor, 1983).
[2] Inv. no. 1956.1109. See ibid., 2, 107–108, 309–310, no. 36, fig. 121; see also Martha Wolff, Northern European and Spanish Paintings before 1600 in the Art Institute of Chicago (New Haven and London, 2008), 232–236, color image. For Rosso Fiorentino as a model, see ibid., 235–236, fig. 2.
[3] See the report by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein of 22 January 2018.
[4] There are certainly other pictures where a comparable supernatural light has been used, as in the Salvator Mundi by the anonymous Master of the Mansi Magdalen, an artist active in the studio of Quentin Massys, now in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen.
[2] Inv. no. 1956.1109. See ibid., 2, 107–108, 309–310, no. 36, fig. 121; see also Martha Wolff, Northern European and Spanish Paintings before 1600 in the Art Institute of Chicago (New Haven and London, 2008), 232–236, color image. For Rosso Fiorentino as a model, see ibid., 235–236, fig. 2.
[3] See the report by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein of 22 January 2018.
[4] There are certainly other pictures where a comparable supernatural light has been used, as in the Salvator Mundi by the anonymous Master of the Mansi Magdalen, an artist active in the studio of Quentin Massys, now in the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen.
Jan Sanders van Hemessen
Jan Sanders van Hemessen was born in Hemessen near Antwerp around 1490/1510 and died around 1556/1579. He began to study with Hendrick van Cleve I in 1519 and became a master around 1524. He joined the artists’ guild of Saint Luke in 1524, whose dean he became in 1548. In 1544, he and three of his colleagues had to leave the city as they were suspected to be members of the Loïst sect. He is supposed to have lived in Haarlem after 1550.
Hemessen is regarded as one of the most prominent Flemish Renaissance painters and belongs to the group of Romanists. He visited Italy in the 1520s and Fontainebleau in the mid-1530s. He played a significant role in the development of genre painting, devoting himself to large-format religious and secular scenes. He also painted a small number of outstanding portraits.