VIRGIN WITH CHILD IN PHYLACY Burgundy, circa 1420-1440 Walnut;... Lot 9

VIRGIN WITH CHILD IN PHYLACY Burgundy, circa 1420-1440 Walnut; significant remains of polychromy H. 92 cm, W. 34 cm, D. 23 cm This walnut Virgin, worked in the round, stands on a narrow base in a completely naturalistic posture. Her slight hip is motivated by the Child she supports with her right arm. The short veil that encircles her and the red mantle that covers her shoulders reveal her graceful air and femininity. Her blue dress, without a belt, moulds her bust; it highlights the curve of her breasts with their hardened nipples and the slenderness of her waist. Her clothing imitates the thick, lightly pleated fabrics characteristic of the Burgundian artists who followed in the footsteps of the Flemish artist Claus Sluter (Haarlem, c. 1355-Dijon, 1406). The sculptor's style, which is masterfully expressed in the Well of Moses and the portal of the chapel of the Dukes of Burgundy at the Charterhouse of Champmol, was given a second wind by his nephew Claus de Werve (Haarlem, 1380-Dijon, 1439), who died before being able to find the stones needed to complete the tombs of Philip the Bold and John the Fearless, but who worked so much and so well in the region that he had many emulators. The art of Antoine le Moiturier (Avignon, 1425-Paris, after 1497), "the last of the great painters of the Dukes of Burgundy" according to Alain Erlande-Brandenburg, was still part of this tradition at the turn of the 15th century. The Child Jesus has unrolled a phylactery, the contents of which he is pointing to with his right hand. An inscription was probably painted on it, as suggested by a group of "Madonnas with a phylactery" identified by Albert Colombet, whose research was continued by Henri David. The text varied from one work to the other, and could be, as on the one at Vandenesse (Côte d'Or), a laudatory "Ave" or, as on the one at Nozeroy (Jura), a reminder of the sacrifice to come. The Virgin of Flammerant, which bears the seal of Claus Sluter, probably explains the fortune of this iconographic type in Burgundy. The Virgin of Bezouotte is attributed to his nephew, wearing a veil on her forehead like ours (fig. 1).