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A Saint John
from Burgundy
7 June
Here is a discovery that ought to delight mediaevalists.
The Virgin of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain (France), forsaken for many a
year, has found her St John again – on paper, at least. John
himself, after a sojourn in the private collection of an old family
of Edinburgh antique dealers, is to be sold on 7 June in Paris by
Piasa. The auction house is hardly a beginner in terms of
mediaeval sculpture. In 2011, it sold a 15th century apostle
making its first appearance at auction, which probably came
from the Cistercian abbey at Theuley (like a Saint Stephen now
in the Musée du Louvre), for the tidy sum of €250,855. But we
return to the St John here, described by sale expert Laurence
Fligny as the matching piece to the Virgin in Saint-Genest
Church in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, and the work of the great Claus
de Werve or his workshop. The sculptor had been called in to
work on the tomb of Philip the Bold by his uncle, Claus Sluter,
then working in Dijon for the Dukes of Burgundy. Claus de
Werve carved most of the weeping figures, admirable for their
expressiveness and modelling. His master, Sluter, also included
him in the project for the celebrated Well of Moses. Claus de
Werve in turn became sculptor to Duke John the Fearless.
Although lacking its original polychromy, this St John evinces
all the artist's expressive power, inherited from Sluter, whose
influence is evident in the treatment of the drapes (simultaneously
heavy and graceful), and the face with its high cheekbones
and curling hair. Stéphanie Perris-Delmas
Burgundy, workshop of Claus de Werve (1396-1439), originally part
of a Calvary group including the Virgin, now in the church of Saint-
Genest in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain (Côte d’Or), first third of the 15th
century, H. 68,3 cm. Estimate: €80,000/100,000.
UPCOMING AUCTIONS THE MAGAZINE
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N° 25 I GAZETTE DROUOT INTERNATIONAL
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