Swabia circa 1400
A carved limewood figure of the Mourning St. John, Swabia, around 1400
Carved in the round, the reverse only summarily carved. With partially overpainted remains of older polychromy. A depiction of the saint facing left with crossed feet and with his head lowered onto his right hand in a mourning gesture, designed for a frontal viewpoint. This sculpture almost certainly originally formed part of a group depicting Christ's crucifixion.
Losses to the polychromy. Minor wear throughout. Mounted on a moulded wooden plinth. Height 41 cm (without plinth).
Provenance
Albert und Hedwig Ullmann, Frankfurt (from 1921 to 1938). - Dr. Arthur Kaufmann, Frankfurt/London (from 1938 to 16.6.1951). - Emil Georg Bührle, Zurich (labelled on the back of the plinth; from 16.6.1951 until his death in 1956, subsequently by descent in family ownership until 1992). - In a South German private collection since 1992. - 1153rd Lempertz auction, Cologne, 30.5.2020, lot 2187. - Dutch collection.
Literature
O. Schmitt, G. Swarzenski: Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus Frankfurter Privatbesitz. exhib. cat. Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt 1921, p. 13 & 19, no. 38. - L. Gloor: Die Sammlung Emil Bührle. Die Werke internationaler Künstler. Vollständiges Verzeichnis, Zurich 2020, p. 27.
Exhibitions
Frankfurter Kunstverein 7.8.-4.10.1921.