Master of the Siefersheim Altarpiece, circle of - Six Apostles

Master of the Siefersheim Altarpiece, circle of

Six Apostles

Oil on canvas (relined). 120 x 155 cm.

This work depicts six of the twelve Apostles standing bare-footed in a flowering meadow. All are shown bearded and with shoulder length hair which varies slightly in colour and cut. The Apostle in the far left leaning his right hand upon a sword is probably Saint Matthew. Beside him we see Saint James the Greater, who holds a red leather-bound book in his right hand, partially concealed by a green pallium, and in his right hand he holds a sword, also only partly visible. He is the only Apostle depicted face on. To the right of him, Saint Bartholomew is shown in a white tunic, a violet pallium, and a knife as his identifying attribute. Facing him we see Saint Philipp with a cross-shaped staff which forms the centre of the composition. He is followed by Saint James the Lesser with an open book and a club as the instrument of his martyrdom. The group of six figures is bordered on the left by Saint Thomas, holding a lance in his right hand and a scroll in his left. All of the Apostles' clothing is vividly coloured and bright, and the red of the cloaks is harmoniously placed throughout the composition to create balance. Their haloes are surrounded by black outlines, and the background of the composition is gilt and ornamented with a basket weave pattern.
Hans Martin Schmidt was the first to attempt to classify this work, locating it to the northern Central Rhine Region, tentatively bringing it into connection with the Master of the Siefersheim Altar, who was active in the Koblenz area. When researching this work in 1971, Schmidt was able to refer to Alfred Stange's seminal work “Kritische Verzeichnis der deutschen Tafelbilder vor Dürer”, published in 1970. Stange collated a series of around 30 works attributed to this master, alongside his eponymous work in Siefersheim, all dated to the time around 1370-1430. Only recently have scholars resumed and intensified research into Central Rhenish panel painting. A few especially noteworthy publications resulting from this research include Julia Zipelius 1992/93, Uwe Gast 1998 (for the period around 1400) , Bodo Brinkmann and Stephan Kemperdick 2002 and 2005 (for the time around 1400 to 1500), and Michaela Schedl (for the time around 1450 to 1510).
Far fewer works of art have survived in the Central Rhine Region than for example in Cologne or the Lower Rhine Region. We know of very few examples of paintings of local artists from the time around 1400. Thus, the style of this region was unable to establish itself so firmly in the collective memory (or that of art historians) as the style of artistic centres such as Cologne and Nuremberg. How exactly this work fits into the established timeline of works from this area and time period has yet to be established with certainty. However, the work does display some parallels to securely attributed works such as the Siefersheim Altar, a triptych with the Adoration of the Magi painted in Koblenz in circa 1400 currently housed in Detroit (The Art Institute, inv. no. 26.106), and especially to the mural painted above the grave monument of the Archbishop of Trier Kuno von Falkenstein (died 1388) in the former collegiate church of Saint Castor in Koblenz. These comparisons indicate this panel to be the work of a painter active in the Central Rhine Region, possibly in Koblenz or Mainz, in the time around 1400-1420.

We would like to thank Dr Michaela Schedl for her extensive studies on this as yet unpublished work of the early 15th century.

Certificate

Dr. Michaela Schedl, September 2018.

Provenance

Heinz Kisters, Kreuzlingen. - Subsequently in family ownership.