Spanischer Meister um 1460 Lot n° 475

The Martyrdom of James the Younger Oil on wood. 57 x 67 cm. In gilded ornamental carved frame, probably upper right section of a sequence of panels from the life of the saint. James the Younger, as the "brother of the Lord Jesus", was a central figure of the Jerusalem early church after the death of Jesus; he received the epithet to distinguish him from James the Elder, the brother of the evangelist John. When James the Elder was beheaded in Jerusalem, he succeeded him as head of the Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 12). He preached to the people, but at this the Pharisees and scribes were angered and had him thrown from the pinnacle of a temple, stoning him until they finally had him beaten to death with a whaler's pole. In the center of the painting, James lying on the ground with his hands tied, wearing a golden nimbus with numerous wounds, on which three men are striking vigorously with a whaler's pole, a curved baton used by the clothiers. A small angel with nimbus seems to have emerged from his mouth, an allusion to the soul rising to heaven. Several stones lie on the ground, a reference to the stoning that initially took place. In the background, against a simple mountainous green landscape three nobly dressed gentlemen, probably the Pharisees or scribes, who witness the martyrdom. Drastic depiction in the usual manner of the time. Note: James the Younger is the patron saint of walkers, tanners, milliners and confectioners. (13403014) (18) Spanish master, ca. 1460 THE MARTYRDOM OF SAINT JAMES THE LESS Oil on panel. 57 x 67 cm.