Lot 21: Michiel Coxcie the Elder (Mechelen 1499-1592)

The Emperor Charlemagne and Elisabeth von Thuringen as patron saints of two donors, probably Guillaume de Bourgoing and Philippa le Clerc du Tremblay
oil and gold on panel - wings of an altarpiece
32 x 9 3/4 in. (81.3 x 24.8 cm.)
a pair (2)

Laren Singer Museum, Nederlandse primitieven in Nederlands bezit, July - September 1961, no. 112 and 113, as 'M. Sittow'.

Catalogue of the Liechtenstein Collection, Vienna, 1927, no. 724 and 726, as 'B. van Orley'.
Catalogue of Galerie Pieter de Boer, Amsterdam, 1958, no. 1 as 'M. Sittow'.
J. Trizna, Michal Sittow, Brussels, 1976, p. 106, no. 52.

Grünling collection.
The Liechtenstein Princely Collections, Vienna, by 1829, and latterly at Vaduz, until 1928 as 'Master Michel (Sittow)';
Sold to a private collector in Holland.
with Galerie P. De Boer, Amsterdam, by 1958, as 'Michel Sittow'.
Mrs. Dina Henriette Barméi-Hanf, Vevey, Switzerland.

The attribution of the present works to Coxcie can be supported by comparison with several other early works including the Death of the Virgin (Prado, Madrid) of circa 1520 and the Santa Cecilia (Convento de las Descalzas Reale, Madrid). The two sitters, Guillaume de Bourgoing and his wife, Philippa le Clerc du Tremblay can be identified by comparison with a signed and dated double portrait by Coxcie of 1538 (Count de Bourgoing collection, Paris).

Coxcie was a pupil of Bernard van Orley, whom he accompanied to Rome to assist on his Vatican tapestries. While there they also executed frescoes depicting the life of St. Barbara in the Church of Santa Maria dell'Anima. Coxcie is amongst the earliest of the Flemish artists to have been exposed to Italian Renaissance paintings and is a critical figure in importing the Maniera Italiana to Flanders when he came back from Italy in 1539. He became a master in Mechelen on the 11 November 1539 and in Brussels in 1542. He had a highly successful career, being appointed court painter, 'schilder der Coninklijke Majesteit', to Philip II and Mary of Hungary and becoming known as 'the Flemish Raphael'. He painted portraits of Karel V, Isabella of Portugal, Eleonore of Austria and Mary of Hungary in 1554.

The present paintings have been requested for an exhibition at the Groeninge Museum, Bruges, entitled 'Geloof & geluk. Sieraad en devotie in middeleeuws Vlaanderen', 21 September 2006 - 4 February 2007 (catalogue to be complied by Prof. Dr. A.M. Koldeweij, Universiteit Nijmegen).