Master of Female Half-Lengths Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Master of Female Half-Lengths Art Value Price Guide

Mar. 22, 2024
MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS
Est: CHF10,000 - CHF15,000
MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS (The Netherlands, active 1525-1550) Maria lactans. Oil on panel. 39.5 × 29 cm. Provenance: Sale Fischer, Lucerne, 12.6.2002, Lot 319. --------------- MEISTER DER WEIBLICHEN HALBFIGUREN (Niederlande, tätig 1525–1550) Maria lactans. Öl auf Holz. 39,5 × 29 cm. Provenienz: - Auktion Fischer, Luzern, 12.6.2002, Los 319. - Sammlung Dr. Sylvia Legrain. Der anonyme Meister der weiblichen Halbfiguren, welcher in den südlichen Niederlanden, vielleicht auch in Antwerpen in der ersten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts tätig war, erhielt seinen Notnamen vom Kunsthistoriker Max Friedländer (1867–1958). Der Name deutet auf das sehr spezifische Werk des Malers und seiner Werkstatt hin, welches durch die Darstellung von eleganten Damen in Dreiviertelansicht charakterisiert ist. Die weiblichen Figuren zeichnen sich durch eine wiederkehrende, herzförmige Gesichtsform und einen ruhigen, sanften Gesichtsausdruck aus. Viele der Werke zeigen religiöse und mythologische Figuren, wie beispielsweise die hier vorliegende lesende Madonna mit Kind. Als Hintergrund dient meist ein zurückhaltendes Interieur, in welchem die Damen diversen Tätigkeiten vom Lesen bis hin zum Musizieren auf verschiedenen Instrumenten nachgehen. Ein sehr schöner Vergleich einer Darstellung von Maria Lactans des Meisters findet sich im Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (Inv.-Nr. SK-A-3130). ---------------
Koller Auctions
Mar. 27, 2015
MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS(The Netherlands, acti
Est: CHF80,000 - CHF120,000
MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS (The Netherlands, active 1525-1550) Portrait of a young lady. Oil on panel. Monogram verso in the upper left corner: GG. 31.5 x 22.3 cm. Provenance: - Estate of Prof. Dr. Johann Rudolf Rahn (1841-1912, label verso). - Swiss private collection. MEISTER DER WEIBLICHEN HALBFIGUREN (Niederlande, tätig 1525-1550) Porträt einer jungen Dame. Öl auf Holz. Verso auf der Holzplatte mit Monogramm in der oberen linken Ecke: GG. 31,5 x 22,3 cm. Provenienz: - Nachlass Prof. Dr. Johann Rudolf Rahn (1841-1912, verso Etikette). - Schweizer Privatsammlung. Zum Meister der weiblichen Halbfiguren siehe auch Los 3015.
Koller Auctions
May. 11, 2011
Studio of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active in Flanders c. 1500-1530)
Est: €15,000 - €20,000
Studio of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active in Flanders c. 1500-1530) Lucretia oil on panel 70.7 x 52.2 cm.
Christie's
May. 10, 2011
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS
Est: €40,000 - €60,000
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS ACTIVE IN ANTWERP DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH AN APPLE AND AN OPEN BOOK oil on panel 35.8 by 26.4 cm.
Sotheby's
Apr. 14, 2011
Circle of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp 1520-1540)
Est: £8,000 - £12,000
Circle of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp 1520-1540) Virgin and Child oil on panel 11½ x 8 in. (29.2 x 20.3 cm.), including an addition of ½ in. (1.8 cm.) to the upper edge
Christie's
Jan. 27, 2011
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS
Est: $40,000 - $60,000
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS ACTIVE IN ANTWERP DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY PORTRAIT OF A LADY oil on panel 15 7/8 by 10 1/2 in.; 40.3 by 26.7 cm.
Sotheby's
Jan. 27, 2011
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS
Est: $180,000 - $220,000
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS ACTIVE IN ANTWERP DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY THE MAGDALEN oil on panel 15 3/4 by 10 1/2 in.; 40.3 by 26.7 cm.
Sotheby's
Jul. 08, 2010
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS
Est: £30,000 - £50,000
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS ACTIVE IN ANTWERP DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY VIRGIN AND CHILD SEATED BEFORE A LECTERN oil on oak panel 39.5 by 28.9 cm.; 15 1/2 by 11 1/2 in.
Sotheby's
Jan. 28, 2010
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS
Est: $100,000 - $150,000
THE MAGDALENE WRITING A LETTER
Sotheby's
May. 08, 2007
f - The Master of the Female Half-lengths Active in Antwerp during the first half of the 16th Century , The Virgin and Child, in a landscape setting with St Joseph in the background
Est: €80,000 - €120,000
oil on panel, with shaped top
Sotheby's
Jul. 07, 2006
The Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp? 1st half 16th Century)
Est: £25,000 - £35,000
The Magdalen oil on panel 15 3/4 x 12 7/8 in. (40 x 32.7 cm.)
Christie's
Apr. 27, 2006
THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS ACTIVE IN ANTWERP DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY
Est: £30,000 - £50,000
THE VIRGIN AND CHILD measurements note 39.7 by 29 cm.; 15 5/8 by 11 1/2 in. oil on panel, in a carved walnut tabernacle frame PROVENANCE Private Collection, Suffolk, from the early 19th century; Thence by descent until recently. NOTE The Master takes his name from his favoured depiction of a variety of female figures in a half-length and small scale format. Typically these included representations of aristocratic young women reading, writing or playing musical instruments, extended often to include depictions of Mary Magdalene. The present work is characteristic of his representations of the Virgin and Child, which are frequently shown against a neutral background, often with a table in the foreground suporting the Christ Child and an open book. The motif of the Virgin handing fruit to her Son is also to be found in other compositions of this type, for example those sold New York, Christie's, 27 January 2000, lot 48 and in these Rooms, 12 December 1973, lot 3. The combination of this with the design of the Child at his Mother's breast is, however, unusual, although the latter recurs with variations in works sold London, Christie's, 10 December 2003, lot 4 and another is now in the Museo Lazaro Galdiano, Madrid (reproduced in M.J. Friedländer, Early Netherlandish Painting, vol. XII, Leyden and Brussels, 1975, plate 36). The relatively large number of related works grouped under this Master's name would suggest that they were in some part the product of a workshop rather than all by the same hand. A small group of landscapes of small format and high quality also associated with his hand betray the influence of Joachim Patenir and thus suggest that the workshop was most probably located in Antwerp.
Sotheby's
Apr. 06, 2006
The Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp? 1st half of the 16th Century)
Est: $150,000 - $250,000
The Virgin and Child oil on panel 10 1/2 x 8 in. (26.7 x 20.3 cm.)
Christie's
Jul. 06, 2005
Follower of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths
Est: £4,000 - £6,000
A lady, as the Magdalen, in an interior holding a book, a landscape beyond oil on panel 23 5/8 x 19 3/8 in. (60 x 49.3 cm.)
Christie's
Dec. 08, 2004
WORKSHOP OF THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS ACTIVE IN ANTWERP DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE
Est: £12,000 - £18,000
WORKSHOP OF THE MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS ACTIVE IN ANTWERP DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY oil on oak panel
Sotheby's
Jul. 07, 2004
Workshop of The Master of the Female Half Lengths (active 1500-1550)
Est: £15,000 - £20,000
A woman as the Magdalen writing at a table in an interior oil on panel 42.2 x 30.6 cm. (16 3/8 x 12 in.)
Bonhams
Jan. 24, 2003
Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp (?), first half of the 16th-century)
Est: $250,000 - $350,000
The Virgin and Child oil on panel 101/2 x 8 in. (26.7 x 20.3 cm.) PROVENANCE Count Johannes Von Welcek. NOTES The group of works traditionally given to the Master of the Female Half-Lengths are now perceived to be in large part the product of a workshop, specializing particularly in small-scale panels of aristocratic young ladies in half-length devotional scenes such as the present lot. They are often shown reading, writing or playing musical instruments, usually in a wood-panelled interior or against a neutral background; some of the women, are represented with an ointment jar, the attribute of Mary Magdalen (for example, in the painting sold at Christie's London, 10 July 2002, lot 16 for œ430,000). The workshop also produced a group of landscapes that clearly show the influence of Joachim Patinir, with whose work they were for a long time confused (see, for example, the small Landscape with Saint John the Baptist sold in these Rooms, 31 January 1997, lot 21 for $290,000). The present work may be regarded as by the same hand as the Virgin and Child in the Museo L zaro Galdiano, Madrid (see M.J. Friedl„nder, Early Netherlandish Painting, XII, Leiden, 1975, no. 61, plate 36). The place and period of the master's activity have been widely disputed: suggestions have ranged from Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent and Mechelen to the French court, with dates from the early-to-late sixteenth century. Friedl„nder and Koch both placed the workshop in Antwerp and Mechelen in the 1520s and 1530s, owing to the closeness of the landscapes to those of Joachim Patenir and the similarity of the female types to those of Barent van Orley. Koch believed that the artist may have been trained in Patenir's shop in Antwerp in circa 1520. This proposal has since been accepted by a number of writers, who have tried to identify the master's hand in the background landscapes of the paintings by Antwerp artists such as Quinten Massys (for example, the Virgin and Child in a Landscape, in the National Museum, Poznan). At least one instance is known where the master painted the landscape background for Jan Gossaert, in a Madonna and Child in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, which is dated 1532, representing the latest secure date for this group.
Christie's
Oct. 02, 2002
Circle of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp?, 1st half of the 16th Century)
Est: $6,000 - $8,000
The Virgin and Child oil on panel, unframed 10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.4 cm.).
Christie's
Jul. 10, 2002
Circle of the Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp?, 1st half of the 16th Century)
Est: $39,000 - $54,600
The Magdalen, half-length, at a table in a black dress and an embroidered collar, reading a book and holding a gilt cup oil on panel 26 7/8 x 21 3/8 in. (68.2 x 54.3 cm.) PROVENANCE Hollingworth Magniac, Colworth House, Bedfordshire; (+) Christie's, London, 2 ff. July 1892, lot 102, as 'Marguerite van Gest....Replica of a picture at Versailles' (75 gns. to 'Lady de R[othschild?]'). NOTES As discussed in the note to lot 16, the group of paintings traditionally associated with the Master of the Female Half-Lengths are now regarded as the output of a workshop rather than a single hand. The present composition fits fully within the format traditionally associated with the Master's oeuvre : a half-length lady at a table, reading a book and with an ornamental cup (traditionally associated with the jar of ointment that was a symbol of the Magdalen). Stylistic grounds, however, do suggest that this work is by a separate hand from that responsible for the Three Women Musicians in the Harrach collection, Schloss Rohrau. If the latter work is regarded as epicentral within the Master's oeuvre, then until such time as the nature of the group is better understood, it seems more prudent to catalogue the present picture as being from the Master's circle, rather than by him in full as it almost certainly would in the past have been regarded. The present attribution is, therefore, given on stylistic rather than qualitative grounds, and the hand responsible for this picture is not unknown: two other works clearly by the same anonymous artist are recorded in photographs in the Friedl„nder archive at the RKD, for which information we are very grateful to Suzanne Laemers of the RKD. All three works reproduce the idiosyncratic collar and include ornamental brooches on the subject's chest and highly decorated silver-gilt cups and covers. This was formerly a part of the celebrated collection of works of art largely formed by Hollingworth Magniac at Colworth Park, Bedfordshire, which was particularly rich in sixteenth-century portraiture. The collection included such works as Hieronymous Bosch's The Mocking of Christ (London, National Gallery), Juan Pantoja de la Cruz's Portrait of Don Diego Gomez de Sandoval y Rojas (Pasadena, California, Norton Simon Museum) and the Portrait of a Man by Corneille de Lyon in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The collection was sold by Christie's in an eleven-day sale in 1892.
Christie's
Jul. 10, 2002
The Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp?, 1st half of the 16th Century)
Est: $234,000 - $312,000
The Magdalene playing the lute oil on panel 10 5/8 x 8 in. (27.6 x 20.3 cm.) PROVENANCE Provinzialmuseum, Hanover, no. 302. B. Hausmann, Hanover, no. 299, as Barent van Orley (label on reverse). J.C.H. Heldring, Oosterbeek. A. de Witte, Courtrai. LITERATURE M.J. Friedl„nder, Early Netherlandish Painting, XII, Leiden, 1975, p. 99, no. 99, fig. 44. EXHIBITION Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, Mens en Muziek, 1957, no. 63. Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, 6 April-1 June, 1958, no. 38/17. Laren, Singer Museum, Nederlandse Primitieven, 1 July-10 September, 1961, no. 83. Bourge-en-Bresse, Mus‚e de l'Ain, B. Van Orley et les artistes de la cour de Maguerite d'Autriche, 1981, no. 34. NOTES The group of works traditionally given to the Master of the Female Half-Lengths are now perceived to be in large part the product of a workshop, specializing particularly in small-scale panels of aristocratic young ladies in half-length and devotional scenes. They are shown reading, writing or playing musical instruments, usually in a wood-panelled interior or against a neutral background; some of the women, including in the present picture, are represented with an ointment jar, the attribute of Mary Magdalene. The workshop also produced a group of landscapes that clearly show the influence of Joachim Patinir, with whose work they were for a long time confused. The present work may confidently be regarded as by the same hand as that generally perceived to be the Master's chef-d'oeuvre and the epicentral painting of the group, the Three Woman Musicians in the Graf Harrasche Gem„ldegalerie, Schloss Rohrau (see M.J. Friedl„nder, Early Netherlandish Painting, XII, Leiden, 1975, no. 106, fig. 45). The place and period of the Master's activity have been widely disputed: suggestions have ranged from Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent and Mechelen to the French court, with dates from the early- to the late-sixteenth century. Friedl„nder and Koch both placed the workshop in Antwerp and Mechelen in the 1520s and 1530s, owing to the closeness of the landscapes to those of Joachim Patinir and the similarity of the female types to those of Barent van Orley. Koch believed that the artist may have been trained in Patinir's shop in Antwerp in circa 1520. This proposal has since been accepted by a number of writers, who have tried to identify the Master's hand in the background landscapes of paintings by Antwerp artists such as Quinten Metsys (e.g. the Virgin and Child in a Landscape, in the National Museum, Poznan). At least one instance is known where the Master painted the landscape background for Jan Gossaert, in a Madonna and Child in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, which is dated 1532, representing the latest secure date for the group. In a few cases, including the present picture, the notes written on the scores from which the ladies are playing music are decipherable as being French songs. Wickhoff actually identified a poem by the early French poet Cl‚ment Marot ( Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen des Allerh”chsten Kaiserhauses, Vienna, 22, 1901, pp. 221 ff.). From this, he inferred a French origin and location for the workshop; however, as Friedl„nder noted ( op. cit., p. 19), Netherlandish composers of the period are known to have set French poetry - which was seen at the time as highly fashionable - to music. SALESROOM NOTICE Please note the additional information: PROVENANCE: Bernard Hausmann (1784-1873), Hanover, no. 299, with whose collection acquired in 1857 by H.M. George V, King of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland (1819-1878; reg. 1851-1866), Herrenhausen, Hanover. with Robert Finck, Brussels, 1963. EXHIBITED: Utrecht, Centraal Museum, 1960, no. 21. Brussels, Mus‚e Royal des Beaux-Arts, Le SiŠcle de Bruegel, 1963, no. 245, S. Bergmans, ed., p. 171. LITERATURE: J.B. Hausmann, Eingang durch die Cumberland Galerie in Hannover. D. Hannema, Catalogue raisonn‚ des tableaux de la Coll. J.C.H. Heldring, Amsterdam, 1955, pp. 30-1. J.A. Parkinson, in Music and Letters, 39, 2 April 1958. L. van Puyvelde, La Peinture flamande au siŠcle de Bosch et Breughel, Paris, 1962, p. 363. Bergmanns ( op. cit. ) has noted that the word 'Jouissance', legible on the lower sheet of music, is the opening word of a poem by Marot (see the catalogue note) that was set to music by various composers, in particular Claudin de Sermisy (1490-1562), who seems to have been the author of the score depicted in this painting which recurs in the Harrach Three Woman Musicians.
Christie's
Jan. 24, 2002
*MASTER OF THE FEMALE HALF-LENGTHS (ACTIVE 1500-1550)
Est: $150,000 - $200,000
oil on panel Little is known about the identity of the present artist. Friedländer (see Literature below) describes him as active circa 1500-1530. His oeuvre consists of small scale panels depicting elegant women performing various household tasks or Biblical themed works such as the present Virgin and Child. The basic compositional form of the Christ Child turning from the Virgin and reaching for fruit can be found in The Holy Family in the National Gallery, London and in reverse in Rest on the Flight into Egypt in the Johnson Collection, Philadelphia (see Literature below no. 74 and 78). In contrast to the above mentioned works, the Virgin and Child in the present painting are set in an interior with a bedroom visible in the background creating a very maternal and intimate scene.
Sotheby's
Nov. 02, 2001
The Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp?, 1st half 16th Century)
Est: $84,000 - $112,000
Thisbe (?) with monogram 'CG' (lower centre) oil on panel 91/4 x 11. 1/8 in. (23.4 x 28.1 cm.) PROVENANCE with Willems, Brussels, 1957. with P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1957, from whom purchased by the father of the present owner. LITERATURE R.A. Koch, Joachim Patinir, 1968, pp. 61 and 89, fig. 90, as Workshop of the Master of the Half-Lengths, the subject identified as Lucretia. EXHIBITION Laren, Singer Museum, Nederlandse Primitieven uit Nederlands particulier bezit, 1 July-10 September 1961, no. 102, as Joachim Patinir. Amsterdam, Gallery P. de Boer, Nederland waterland. De relatie tussen land en water in de Nederlandse schilderkunst van 1500 tot nu, 13 January-19 February 1972, no. 29, illustrated, as Joachim Patinir. NOTES The Master of the Female Half-Lengths is the name given to what was apparently a workshop that specialized in small-scale panels of aristocratic young ladies in half-length and devotional scenes: they are shown reading, writing or playing musical instruments, usually in a wood-panelled interior or against a neutral background. Some of the women are represented with an ointment jar, the attribute of Mary Magdalene. The workshop also produced a group of landscapes that clearly show the influence of Joachim Patinir, with whose work they were for a long time confused. This part of the oeuvre was first comprehensively researched by Robert Koch, who assembled a nucleus of his landscapes, containing thirteen pictures, including the present one. This was at the time identified as a studio work, a distinction which has been superseded by further understanding of the Master's workshop nature. The place and period of the Master's activity have been widely disputed: suggestions have ranged from Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent and Mechelen to the French court, with dates from the early to the late-sixteenth century. Friedl„nder and Koch both placed the workshop in Antwerp and Mechelen in the 1520s and 1530s, owing to the closeness of the landscapes to those of Joachim Patinir and the similarity of the female types to those of Bernard van Orley. Koch believed that the artist may have been trained in Patinir's shop in Antwerp in circa 1520. This proposal has since been accepted by a number of writers, who have tried to identify the Master's hand in the background landscapes of paintings by Antwerp artists such as Quentin Metsys (e.g. the Virgin and Child in a Landscape, Poznan, National Museum). At least one instance is known where the Master painted the landscape background for Jan Gossaert, in a Madonna and Child in the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, which is dated 1532, representing the latest secure date for his oeuvre. The present picture is typical of these landscapes: dominated by sheer rocks, crowned with firtresses with turrets and battlements, while the long, slender, sinuous trees emphasize the sense of depth. In comparison with Patinir, there is a more gradual recession from the foreground to the horizon and a softer, sketchier treatment, with rock masses less jagged in contour and a gentler use of atmospheric perspective; special attention is devoted to architectural ornaments, such as statuettes and fountains. Similarly representative is the handling of the variated foreground vegetation, the mossy tree trunks and the heavy foliage. Stylistically, this painting is extremely close to a Landscape with hunting scenes in the Mus‚e d'Art et Histoire, Geneva, and the Rest on the Flight into Egypt in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (see W. Gibson, 'Mirror of the Earth'. The World Landscape in Sixteenth-Century Flemish Painting, 1989, p. 16, figs. 1.33 and 1.34 respectively). Examples of the landscapist's mature style, these paintings probably date from the end of the 1520s and the first half of the 1530s, A further example from the same period was sold anonymously, Christie's, New York, 31 January 1997, lot 21 ($321,500). The subject matter of the painting remains uncertain. The female figure, her horse beside her and near a fountain with a figure of Cupid, has in the past been tentatively identified as Lucretia (Koch, loc. cit. ). However the story of Lucretia is not generally depicted in an extensive landscape, nor would this identification explain the prominent horse. In the catalogue of the 1972 exhibition, the figure was thought to represent Thisbe; nonetheless, this identification, too, is problematic, as in the iconographical tradition of the period, Thisbe is always depicted with her lover, Pyramus.
Christie's
Dec. 13, 2000
The Master of the Female Half-Lengths (active Antwerp 1520-40)
Est: $87,000 - $116,000
The Magdalen oil on panel 157/8 x 101/2 in. (40.3 x 26.7 cm.) PROVENANCE Baron Alphonse de Rothschild (1827-1905), Paris. Baron Edouard de Rothschild (1868-1949), Paris. Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild (1914-99), Tel Aviv. Rothschild inventory no. ER 48 (the inventory no. R96 on the reverse relates to the Nazi requisitions of 1940-1). NOTES This anonymous master is named after a series of half-length depictions of the Magdalen; to the same artist have been atttributed other depictions of elegantly dressed women variously engaged in reading, writing or playing music, often against dark backgrounds. His oeuvre reveals a style typical of the Antwerp studios of the first half of the sixteenth century. Friedl„nder pronounced him as one of the most successful and popular artists working in this milieu (M.J. Friedl„nder, Early Netherlandish Painting, XII, 1975, p. 18). This composition is comparable with two other works by the Master in which the Magdalen is shown holding her vase of ointment against a dark background: the picture last recorded in the Schevitch collection, sale, Paris, 1906, no. 7, and the Magdalen in the collection of Prince Salm-Salm at Schloss Anholt (see ibid., p. 98, nos. 82-3, pl. 41).
Christie's