FLANDRES, XVe Siècle Lot n° 3

VIERGE A L'EPOQUE GOTHIQUE CHILD'S CHILD Oak wood H. 98 cm, W. 31 cm, D. 21 cm Exhibition Musée Cantini, 1952, L'art du Moyen-Age dans les collections marseillaises, n°101 Provenance Former Louis Bresset collection (before 1952). Former collection of Professor de Vernejoul from 1952. This great Virgin and Child, while presenting the characters of works executed in Flanders by sculptors whose art was in full bloom in the 15th century, is nevertheless not free of French influence. This is notably the case for the slightly hip, arched position of the mother carrying the seated infant Jesus in both hands, dressed in a long tunic. The delicately gathered dress appears under the ample coat of thick cloth, perfectly rendered by the hand of a great master. The morphology of the face makes it possible to specify a Brabant origin (Flanders also includes Brabant and the Mosan region) for this exceptional Virgin made of oak wood: the high and rounded forehead, the straight nose slightly rolled up, the small mouth at the corners of the lips slightly raised to sketch a smile, and especially the long, very wavy locks covering the shoulders, which are particularly well cared for.