Lot 1005. Alpine master of the 16th century, Open Missal. Oil on softwood. 43.2 x 53.5 cm. Estimate: € 60,000 - € 80,000 © Lempertz

Provenance: South German private property.

Note: For the genre of the book image, see Anja Schneckenburger-Broschek: Old German Painting. The panel paintings and altars of the 14th to 16th centuries in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister and in the Hessian State Museum Kassel, Kassel 1997, pp. 269-284.

The painting belongs to a group of closely related book pictures, which were created in southern Germany in the 16th century. Depicted is an open liturgical book bound in red leather, a so-called Missal, with Gothic scriptures and illuminated initials. As if it had just been opened, the book stands out against the dark background, while the light coming from the left meets the individual pages in different ways, giving the impression that it is scrolling through it at that moment.

In her 1997 essay (op. Cit.), Anja Schneckenburger-Broschek brought together a total of 13 paintings of this type. Meanwhile, two more copies, including our painting, can be added. Amazing are the similarities in the illustrated book, which extend to the ornaments, the notations of the open pages and the cover. In contrast, the question of the origin of the pictorial motif is still a controversial topic among experts. Is it a pure still life in the widest sense or is it a kind of utility object? For there is some evidence that these works were placed on the church's desk board when no Mass was read and the Missal was kept in safety. For the modern viewer, this question is less relevant than the stupendous trompe l'oeil effect.

Lempertz. Auction 1108, Alte Kunst, 16.05.2018, 11:00, Cologne.