Beschreibung:

Property from a Distinguished Spanish Private CollectionCircle of the Master of the Female Half-LengthsThe Good Samaritan Oil on panel26,5 x 35,5 cm ; 10 3⁄8 by 14 in.____________________________________________ Provenant d'une prestigieuse collection particulière espagnoleEntourage du Maître des Demi-Figures Le Bon Samaritain Huile sur panneau26,5 x 35,5 cm ; 10 3⁄8 by 14 in.Condition reportFor further information on the condition of this lot please contact clemence.enriquez@sothebys.com Catalogue noteThis painting, from the circle of the Master of the Female Half-lengths, is a fine example of Weltlandschaft, a genre devised by the Antwerp artist Joachim Patinir in the early decades of the sixteenth century, which rapidly became highly popular throughout Europe. These landscapes, responding to the Mannerist taste, present a vast panorama seen from an elevated viewpoint, creating an imaginary scene combining naturalistically observed motifs and others with exaggerated proportions. This type of extraordinary, spectacular reality can be appreciated in this landscape, which extends over a series of fantastic rock formations by the sea, with a distant horizon. The artist’s subtle use of atmospheric perspective adds to the composition’s poetic quality. The scene in the foreground recalls the beginning of the parable of the Good Samaritan, when a Jewish priest and a Levite pass a traveller who has been attacked and left for dead but do not stop to help him. The Master of the Female Half-lengths more readily designates a group of painters than one clearly identified artist. This is supported by the large number of panels attributed to him – about a hundred. The artist is associated with numerous waist-length paintings of young women, hence his notname. Examples include Three Female Musicians in the Schloss Rohrau in Austria (inv. WF169) and Young Woman Reading in the Musée du Louvre (inv. Nv. RF 1973-32). He also produced works in which figures are positioned in exterior settings, like The Rest on the Flight to Egypt in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (inv. 950). The quality of the landscape background in these works and their similarity to other paintings formerly attributed to Patinir have led to the view that the Master of the Female Half-lengths could also have been a landscape painter. Several scholars have tried to identify him, so far without success. Some consider him to be French, others think that he is from Bruges or Mechelen. Recent research has revealed that his style is influenced by Joos van Cleve Jan Massys and Bernard van Orley, which would indicate that his workshop may have been located in Antwerp or Brussels. ____________________________________________ Ce tableau de l'entourage du Maître des Demi-Figures est un bel exemple de Weltlandschaft, un genre conçu par l'artiste anversois Joachim Patinir dans les premières décennies du XVIe siècle qui a rapidement rencontré un succès considérable dans toute l'Europe. Ces paysages d’un goût maniériste offrent un vaste panorama vu d'un point de vue élevé et créent une scène imaginaire combinant des motifs observés de façon naturaliste et d’autres aux proportions exagérées. On retrouve cette réalité extraordinaire et spectaculaire dans ce paysage qui s'étend sur une série de formations rocheuses fantastiques au bord d’une mer à l’horizon lointain. L'utilisation subtile par le peintre de la perspective atmosphérique renforce la poésie de la composition. La scène du premier plan rappelle le début de la parabole du bon Samaritain lorsque le cohen et le lévite passent près du voyageur attaqué et laissé pour mort mais ne s'arrêtent pas pour l'aider. Le Maître des Demi-Figures Féminines désigne plus volontiers un groupe d’artistes qu’un artiste clairement identifié. Les nombreux panneaux, une centaine, qui lui sont attribués en attestent. L’artiste est associé à de nombreuses compositions de jeunes femmes représentées jusqu'à la taille d’où son nom, comme le tableau Les tr