Found-Object Report | Object report
John the Baptist
Lost Art-ID
634346
Artist / Creator
Unknown (Southern Germany, probably Ulm)
Title
John the Baptist
Dating
1500 (around)
Object type
Group of reported objects
Material / Technique
Wood (Lime) / carved ; painted
Height
98.00 cm
Width
34.00 cm
Depth
23.00 cm
Inventory number
LM-20886
Description
John the Baptist, facing forward, standing barefoot on the rounded plinth designed as a grass bench, with his right leg forward. He wears a fur robe and a voluminous cloak with a beaded hem in gold and red. In his veiled left hand, he carries a sheep, whose front legs rest on the book. His right hand points to the animal and the book. The impressive head of the Baptist, with his luxuriant curly hair and full beard, has a sculpturally rendered, striking face.
Provenance
Since 26 December 1939 Swiss National Museum, acquired from Max Josef Kitzinger; undated – 26 December 1939 Max Josef Kitzinger, Lucerne; […]; 1927 Kunsthandlung A.S. Drey, Munich; […]; around 1500, probably Ulm
Provenance research: In 1927, the object was in the possession of the A.S. Drey art dealership in Munich, which was ‘Aryanised’ in 1936. Through unknown channels, the object came into the possession of Max Josef Kitzinger (1885-1958), an art dealer with a dubious reputation who was known for forgeries and false statements about objects. He sold it to the Swiss National Museum in 1939. Due to the large gap in provenance, particularly in the period from 1933 to 1939, it cannot be ruled out that the object was confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution.
Literature / Source
Flühler-Kreis, Dione; Wyer, Peter: Die Holzskulpturen des Mittelalters, Band II: Altarretabel und Retabelfiguren, Zürich 2007, Nr. 284, S. 289; Otto, Gertrud: Die Ulmer Plastik der Spätgotik. Reutlingen 1927, S. 85, Abb. 89; Selig, Wolfram. „Arisierung“ in München: Die Vernichtung jüdischer Existenz 1937-1939. Berlin 2004, S. 622-624.
Published since
Contact
Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum
Landesmuseum Zürich
Museumstrasse 2 / Postfach
8021 Zürich
Switzerland
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