PLATE in enamel painted in grisaille with gold... Lot 45

PLATE in enamel painted in grisaille with gold and rose highlights for the complexions of the face representing Saint Loup, counter-enamel in melting. The saint bishop of Limoges is represented under an arcature on a wall background; he is standing, wearing a mitre and a cope, holding the crosier with his left hand and blessing with his other; inscription at the bottom SANCT[E] LVPE. Limoges, attributed to Martial Ydeux, mid 16th century Height: 8 cm - Width: 11.9 cm (some accidents and restorations) This plaque is remarkable for its subject, Saint Loup de Limoges, very rarely represented despite the eminent place he holds among the Limousin saints. In the production of the 16th century, only the series on the life of the saint preserved in the treasury of the cathedral of Troyes is known. Saint Loup was elected bishop of the city at the beginning of the 7th century and died in 632. His brotherhood is the oldest in the province, it was created in 1153 much earlier than that of Saint Martial, the first bishop of Limoges in the 3rd century, whose work of evangelisation he continued. This plaque in grisaille with a delicate rose-coloured decoration for the face of the holy Bishop is of a beautiful quality of execution. It should be compared with the series of ten large grisaille plaques illustrating the Passion kept in the Louvre museum, four of which bear the MD signature (inv. OA 11134 to OA 11143). A number of details make it possible to make this comparison, such as the common and essential features, including the broken folds with finely hatched shadows, the architectural elements, the thick lines underlining the circumference of the figures and the care taken in the treatment of the faces (figs. a, b, c and d). Work consulted: S. Baratte, Les émaux peints de Limoges, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2000, pp 113-119.