BENJAMIN PROUST FINE ART LIMITED London Attributed to CLAUX (or CLAUS) DE WERVE (c. 1380-1439) VIRGIN AND CHILD Circa 1410 -1415 Walnut 59.5 x 22 x 15.5 cm Provenance: French private collection Comparative literature: Sophie Jugie, The Mourners: tomb sculptures from the court of Burgundy (exh. cat. New York, Metropolitan Museum oF Art, 2010 and Paris, Musée de Cluny, 2012), New Haven, 2010. Sabine Witt, Die Skulturen der Sluter-Nachfolge in Poligny. Stiftungen und Hofkunst in der Freigrafschaft Burgund unter den Herzögen aus dem Hause Valois, Korb, 2009. Stephen Fliegel (ed.), L’art à la cour de Bourgogne: le mécénat de Philippe le Hardi et de Jean sans Peur (1364 - 1419) ; les princes des fleurs de lis (exh. cat. Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 2004 and The Cleveland Museum oF Art, 2004-2005), Paris, 2004. Pierre Quarré, Claux de Werve et la sculpture bouguignonne dans le premier tiers du XVe siècle (exh. cat. Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 1976), Dijon 1976. 43-44 New Bond Street London - W1S 2SA +44 7500 804 504 VAT: 126655310 dd
[email protected] Company n° 7839537 www.benjaminproust.com This exquisitely carved walnut sculpture oF the Virgin and Child shows Mary holding the Christ child in her leFt arm; she looks tenderly down at him, whilst he gazes up at her. They hold an open book in their hands and gesture towards it. The heavy and bloated drapery with curving Folds, the chubby yet expressive Faces and the sense oF intimacy in the sculpture clearly indicate its belonging to the School oF Burgundy, as Robert Didier stated in an extensive report in 2014.