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Lot Essay
Imbued with elegant, courtly touches, the present painting unites two subjects not commonly pictured together in Netherlandish art of the Renaissance: the Adoration of the Magi from the New Testament and the apocryphal story of Tobias and the Angel. The latter appears in the Book of Tobit, which recounts how the devout Jew Tobit was blinded and then asked his son, Tobias, to travel from their home in Nineveh to Media to collect a debt. Before departing, Tobias searched for a travel companion and found one who unbeknownst to him, was the Archangel Raphael. Once on their way, the two reached the River Tigris where Tobias went for a swim and encountered a fierce fish. Following Raphael’s instructions, Tobias caught the creature, gutted it and set aside its gall, heart and liver, burning the last two to ward off evil. After an eventful journey, Tobias returned to his father and used the fish’s gall to restore his sight, after which the Archangel revealed himself to the pair, who fell before him in prostration.
Though concealed in the biblical narrative, Raphael’s identity is clearly signaled here through his brilliantly colored wings, while a fashionably attired Tobias carries the fish that will eventually save his father. Their presence alongside the Adoration of the Magi may indicate that this was meant as a votive panel for a young man embarking on travels, possibly someone of Italian origin as the subject of Tobias and the Angel was particularly popular in the peninsula. The fact that the pair gaze intently beyond the edge of the panel suggests it may not have been conceived as a solitary painting. Grete Ring (loc. cit.) argued that the present picture is in fact a fragment cut on all sides that once belonged to an altarpiece that included four other panels: The Birth of the Virgin and The Annunciation (both Boymans-van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam), The Birth of Christ (private collection, England) and Christ Appearing to the Virgin (private collection, Paris). Although the panel support of the present painting does appear to have been trimmed along its left edge, its painted composition does not appear to have been reduced beyond the loss of some of the painted column at left, which may have been painted directly over the engaged frame. In fact, Ron Spronk (loc. cit.) has more recently doubted the validity of including the Birth of Christ and our painting in the series defined by Ring due to their significantly smaller size.
Born in Mons, Jan Provoost most likely received his initial training from his father, Jan Provoost the Elder, and is believed to have continued his studies in the workshop of the celebrated manuscript illuminator, Simon Marmion, in Valenciennes. Upon Marmion’s death, Provoost married his widow, Johanna de Quarube. In 1493, Provoost joined the Guild of Saint Like in Antwerp and in the following year became a citizen of Bruges. He served as president of the Bruges painters’ guild in 1519 and 1525 and worked on several important projects for the city throughout his career, including directing Bruges’ decorative program from the Triumphal Entry of Charles V in 1520.
At the turn of the century, Provoost appears to have travelled to Jerusalem, possibly via Italy, where, as noted above, imagery related to Tobias and the Angel was often used to provide comfort and protection to travelers. Moreover, many details in our panel, from the meticulous execution of the gilded splendors proffered by the Magi to that of the setting’s lush foliage speak to Provoost’s intimate knowledge of the techniques of manuscript illumination.
Dendrochronological analysis of the panel’s single Baltic oak board by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein indicates a plausible felling date between 1431 and 1437 (written communication, 8 April 2010). Accounting for two years of seasoning, he therefore suggests a plausible creation date for this painting of 1435 upward.
Though concealed in the biblical narrative, Raphael’s identity is clearly signaled here through his brilliantly colored wings, while a fashionably attired Tobias carries the fish that will eventually save his father. Their presence alongside the Adoration of the Magi may indicate that this was meant as a votive panel for a young man embarking on travels, possibly someone of Italian origin as the subject of Tobias and the Angel was particularly popular in the peninsula. The fact that the pair gaze intently beyond the edge of the panel suggests it may not have been conceived as a solitary painting. Grete Ring (loc. cit.) argued that the present picture is in fact a fragment cut on all sides that once belonged to an altarpiece that included four other panels: The Birth of the Virgin and The Annunciation (both Boymans-van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam), The Birth of Christ (private collection, England) and Christ Appearing to the Virgin (private collection, Paris). Although the panel support of the present painting does appear to have been trimmed along its left edge, its painted composition does not appear to have been reduced beyond the loss of some of the painted column at left, which may have been painted directly over the engaged frame. In fact, Ron Spronk (loc. cit.) has more recently doubted the validity of including the Birth of Christ and our painting in the series defined by Ring due to their significantly smaller size.
Born in Mons, Jan Provoost most likely received his initial training from his father, Jan Provoost the Elder, and is believed to have continued his studies in the workshop of the celebrated manuscript illuminator, Simon Marmion, in Valenciennes. Upon Marmion’s death, Provoost married his widow, Johanna de Quarube. In 1493, Provoost joined the Guild of Saint Like in Antwerp and in the following year became a citizen of Bruges. He served as president of the Bruges painters’ guild in 1519 and 1525 and worked on several important projects for the city throughout his career, including directing Bruges’ decorative program from the Triumphal Entry of Charles V in 1520.
At the turn of the century, Provoost appears to have travelled to Jerusalem, possibly via Italy, where, as noted above, imagery related to Tobias and the Angel was often used to provide comfort and protection to travelers. Moreover, many details in our panel, from the meticulous execution of the gilded splendors proffered by the Magi to that of the setting’s lush foliage speak to Provoost’s intimate knowledge of the techniques of manuscript illumination.
Dendrochronological analysis of the panel’s single Baltic oak board by Prof. Dr. Peter Klein indicates a plausible felling date between 1431 and 1437 (written communication, 8 April 2010). Accounting for two years of seasoning, he therefore suggests a plausible creation date for this painting of 1435 upward.