The Circumcision of Christ – Two panel paintings from a small winged altarpiece

The two small panels depicting the Birth of Jesus and the Circumcision presumably adorned the wings of a private altar showing scenes from the Infancy of Jesus. Visible all the way around both paintings are margins that indicate the location of the former frames. The original panels were thinned, or the presumably decorated versos of these wing panels were sawed off. When they were restored the panels were transferred to supports that were either new or in secondary use. At the top, both paintings have painted gold leaf and vine ornamentation forming arches decorated with Renaissance forms.

The depiction of the circumcision shows the high priest on the left of the composition, holding the child above the basin in his lap. Two assistants are placed in front of him, one performing the circumcision ceremony with his back to the viewer. Behind them, to the right, stand Mary and Joseph, turned toward each other. Joseph points to the child with his left hand and clutches his hat to his chest with his right, while Mary prays. In the background, simple architecture with a basket arch defines the space. Dürer’s 1504 engraving of the same theme, with some minor variations in the composition, served as a prototype.

The earlier literature never questioned the authorship of Hans Schäufelin, a follower of Dürer, (in fact the paintings were interpreted as the earliest works by the artist). However, Christoph Metzger, who wrote the most recent monograph on Schäufelin, felt the palette and brushwork, the laconic backdrop, and the strict adherence to Dürer’s engraving were not characteristic of the master. In his opinion, the panels now housed in Esztergom could not possibly have been made by Schäufelin. Instead, he posited that certain details linked the works to those by Wolf Traut and his circle, in particular the high altar in Nuremberg’s Church of St. John.

Provenance

Ipolyi collection 243, 246. ‘243. Circumcision of Christ. Oil painting on a wood panel. The pendant of no. 246 (in chest X).’ ‘246: Birth of Christ. Oil painting on a panel. In the style of 16th c. German masters. On an older slip with older writing: Albrecht Altdorfer.’ Ipolyi bought the panel in 1873 in Augsburg.

Bibliography

• St. Pölten 2015, 136-137 (Sarkadi-Nagy)
• Christoph Metzger: Hans Schaufelin als Maler. Berlin 2002. 522-524, 558.
• Cséfalvay Pál, szerk.: Keresztény Múzeum, Esztergom. Budapest, 1993. Corvina, 199 (Végh J.).
• Végh János: XVI. századi német táblaképek. Budapest 1972, 5-6. sz. –Weih-Krüger Sonja: Hans Schäufelein. Ein Beitrag zur künstlerischen Entwicklung des jungen Hans Schäufelein bis zu seiner Niederlassung in Nördlingen 1515 unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des malerischen Werks (=Diss Erlangen-Nürnberg 1986), Nürnberg 1986, 56-60.
• Boskovits Miklós-Mojzer Miklós-Mucsi András: Az esztergomi Keresztény Múzeum képtára (Budapest, 1964. Akadémiai Kiadó), 168.
• Magyarország műemléki topográfiája I. Esztergom 1. Esztergom műemlékei (összeállította: Genthon István; Budapest 1948), 134.
• Thieme-Becker XXIX 1935, 559.
• Hoffmann Edit: Über Altäre aus Ungarn im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert. In: A Műgyűjtő V. 1931. 6-7. sz. 169.
• Évkönyve Bp. 1930, 95.
• Gerevich T. Az Ipolyi Gyűjtemény. Az Országos Magyar Képzőművészeti Társulat
• O. Benesch: Die Fürtserzbischöfliche Gemäldegalerie in Gran. Belvedere 14. 1929., 69.