Daniel Fröschl [saleroom notice]

(Augsburg 1573–1613 Prague)
The Virgin at prayer,
oil on panel, 57.5 x 44.3 cm, framed

The attribution to Daniel Fröschl, court painter under Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, has been endorsed by Rainer Stüwe, a copy of whose certificate accompanies this lot. Stüwe dates the work to around 1605/10. Comparable paintings are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (circa 1600) and appeared in a sale at Van Ham, Cologne (12 April 2003, lot 1209) and in a sale at Arthouse Hejtmanek, Prague (28 May 2015, lot 34). In 1607, Fröschl was assigned the important position of head of the imperial collections in Prague, which is proof of the high esteem he enjoyed.

The present composition relates in part to Dürer's painting Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (1519) in New York, Metropolitan Museum (inv. no. 14.40.633).

We are grateful to Rainer Stüwe for endorsing the attribution of the present painting to Daniel Fröschl.