Portrait of six apostles; detail from the predella of a winged altarpiece
1480-90
Wood, tempera
42.5 x 67 cm
Inv. 55.446.1
The composition, the arrangement of the apostles in groups, the communicative gestures and facial expressions appear many times in predellas from Swabia, in the area in which Martin Schaffner was active. Perhaps the panel is part of a composition like Hans Schüchlin’s predella in Tiefenbronn. The intact edges on all sides of the panel and the balanced composition, however, suggest the panel depicting six apostles may not be a truncated, trimmed fragment of a predella itself but rather may have comprised one of the movable wings of a predella. (The cradling of the panel’s verso supports this supposition, suggesting work could have been a double-sided image from a movable wing.)
Provenance:
Ipolyi Collection. ‘175. Six apostles from the waist up. Gold ground, oil painting on a panel. 16th c. Fragment from some predella.’ (Lakatos-Balla 275) (According to Boskovits/Mojzer-Mucsi 1964, its origins are unknown.)
Restoration:
The panel, however, bears traces of relatively early (perhaps from the first half of the 19th century?) restorations (retouches).
Provenance:
Ipolyi Collection. ‘175. Six apostles from the waist up. Gold ground, oil painting on a panel. 16th c. Fragment from some predella.’ (Lakatos-Balla 275) (According to Boskovits/Mojzer-Mucsi 1964, its origins are unknown.)
Restoration:
The panel, however, bears traces of relatively early (perhaps from the first half of the 19th century?) restorations (retouches).
