A major German primitive painting representing the “Flagellation of Christ”, lost for almost a century, was rediscovered recently in Eastern France.
The painting, attributed by the Master of the Passion of karlsruhe, was rediscovered by Paris expert René Millet and will be sold in Drouot on December 9th 1998. It has been estimated between US $ 600,000 and 700,000. The painting, produced around 1450, had been at first attributed to Hans Holbein the Elder but a certain Flemish influence revealed in the decor pinpointed to the master of Karlsruhe.
It shows the interior of a room where Christ is being flogged by two executioners in the presence of a drunkard and a black man weeping over the shoulder of another executioner.
This work of extraordinary striking beauty is the best German primitive work to have appeared on the French market in the past 40 years. Originating from the HGA raedt van Oldenbarnevelt collection it was sold in April 1902 by the Frederik Muller & Company auction group and entered a private collection in Eastern France.
Curators of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe which possesses five panels by this 15th Century master who lived in Strasbourg were enthusiastic about the find and said they hoped to acquire it so as to complete their collection. Another painting from the “Passion” series is being exhibited in the museum of Cologne.
It is believed that the Master of Karlsruhe painted between 12 and 24 paintings for a polyptych which included a major piece showing the cruxifixion now lost.
The curator of the Unterlinden museum of Colmar, Eastern France, was laudatory about the discovery while the Louvre Museum has been examining the painting in order to decide whether it will grant an export licence for it. The Louvre might try to pre-empt the painting as its collection of German primitive works is rather poor but in doing so it would deeply disappoint the Karlsruhe museum which is tremendously eager to complete its series. It has already stated that if it acquired the “Flagellation” it would ask the Cologne Museum to accept a permanent loan for the piece it possesses against a major work from its collection.
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