SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST GERMANY, END OF THE... Lot 20

SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST GERMANY, END OF THE XIVTH - BEGINNING OF THE XVIst CENTURY limewood, polychrome H. 67 cm, W. 21 cm, D. 16 cm Provence Former collection of the Duke of C. This Saint John the Evangelist, recognizable by the eagle that accompanies him, has the melancholic expression of Germanic figures. His head, slightly tilted forward in a humble attitude, contrasts with his strong jaw, which can be seen in another St. John, attributed to Martin Hoffmann and preserved in the Colmar Museum (fig. 1). The two figures also have in common a thick hair with supple curls framing their faces, a mouth with fleshy lips and drooping corners. The half-closed eyes of ours give him a softer look. His body is hidden under a heavy drape with large broken folds, whose brocades disappear under several layers of polychromy. Two delicate hands are escaping from it, carrying her open gospel for all to see. In spite of the expressiveness of the features, its still hieratic posture and the eagle at its feet, which looks less like a bird of prey than a simple bird, invite us to date the group to the end of the 15th century.