The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist and an angel

Once a part of the Royal Hanoverian collection, this work by Joachim Wtewael has been untraced since 1926. Its appearance on the market, emerging from the aristocratic private collection where it has been treasured for generations, marks an important rediscovery. The verso still bears the marks and labels of several important collectors, including the 18th-century inventory number '50', possibly of the celebrated German scientist Franz Ernst Brückmann (1697-1753); the crowned Royal Cypher of King George V of Hanover (1819-1878); and other signs of royal provenance. The painting was included in the 1929 monograph on the artist by Lindeman (loc. cit.) and in Anne Lowenthal's catalogue raisonné (loc. cit., as 'location unknown') -in both cases only known from old photographs. The complex iconography, which is discussed by Lowenthal (op. cit., 1986, p. 130), expresses the theme of Redemption, while the composition reflects the influence of the Prague School, above all, one of its leading exponents, the Antwerp-born Bartholomäus Spranger (to whom it was long attributed). The composition is inspired by a lost painting by Spranger, known only from a 1605 print by Lucas Kilian (Hollstein 45; ill., Lowenthal 1986, op. cit., fig. 99). The figures of both children recall Wtewael's other treatment of this subject, a large canvas (100 x 94 cm.) in the Musée de Picardie, Amiens. Lowenthal notes that the Christ child's pose may derive from Raphael's Death of Ananias, and was used by Wtewael in other works (op. cit., 1986, pp. 117 and 130). The musical instrument played by the angel is a Renaissance cittern, varied from that shown by Spranger: here, it has a more elaborate neck, with an elegant sculpted head above the tuning pegs (Lowenthal, written communication). The closely-cropped composition was favored by Wtewael, who used it for his Maternal Charity (one version of which was sold Christie's, London, 4 December 2012 (£623,650).

We are grateful to Anne Lowenthal for confirming the attribution of 'this beautiful painting' (written communication). The painting will be included in Dr. Lowenthal's forthcoming revised edition of her catalogue raisonné, Joachim Wtewael and Dutch Mannerism.