Bidspirit auction | Hans Burgkmair: Salvator Mundi

Hans Burgkmair: Salvator Mundi - BURGKMAIR , HANS 1473 Augsburg–1531 Augsburg Title: Salvator Mundi. Subtitle: Latin transcription (Psalm 94). Date: Ca. 1505-1510. Technique: Oil on wood. Measurement: 28.5 x 22.5cm. Frame: Framed. The painting depicts Christ in a bust portrait in profile, in accordance with the description found in the so-called ”Lentulus Letter”, which has been in circulation since the Middle Ages. This iconographic type has been preserved in both painting and printmaking and is framed here by a Latin inscription containing quotations from the Old Testament. The provenance of the panel can be traced back to the important Lyversberg Collection in Cologne around 1800, where it remained until it was auctioned at Lempertz in 1971. Over time, the attribution has changed several times: from Andrea Mantegna to Albrecht Dürer and a Dutch master of around 1500, and finally to Hans Burgkmair the Elder, to whom the work was ultimately attributed by Ernst Buchner around 1930 on stylistic grounds. The depiction of Christ with parted, shoulder-length hair and a divided beard follows the idealised description in the Epistle of Lentulus, which had been in circulation since the 14th century. Burgkmair also adopted this type in his woodcuts, particularly in medallion-like compositions with comparable inscriptions. The surrounding inscription combines two biblical passages (Baruch 3:38 and Psalm 44:3), but contains several errors, suggesting an inaccurate transmission or transcription. Provenance: - Private ownership, Germany. Lempertz auction (Jakob Johann Lyversberg Collection, later Virnich Collection, Bonn), Cologne, 26.05.1971, lot 14; Virnich Collection (Lyversberg), Bonn 1888–1971; Geyr Collection (Lyversberg), Cologne and Unkel 1840–1888; Lyversberg Collection, Cologne until 1834. Literature: Catalogue of the Lyversberg Collection of Paintings in Cologne, to be publicly auctioned to the highest bidder on August 16 1837, Cologne 1837, p. 8, no. 23 (attributed to Mantegna); E. Buchner: Der Meister des Seyfriedsberger Altars und Hans Burgkmair, in: Zeitschrift für Kunstwissenschaft, 10, 1956, p. 35–52, here p. 46, fig. 9 on p. 45 (attributed to Hans Burgkmair the Elder, [c. 1505–1510]); Lust und Verlust. Kölner Sammler zwischen Trikolore und Preußenadler, exhibition catalogue, Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle, Cologne, October 28 1995–28 January 1996, ed. by Hiltrud Kier and Frank G. Zehn , Vol. 2, Cologne 1995/1998, Vol. 2: Corpus-Band zu Kölner Gemäldesammlungen 1800–1860, p. 217, no. 23 (as Hans Burgkmair). Appraisal: Michael Schedl, Tübingen, March 31 2026; see here for detailed references. Estimated shipping costs for this lot: Inland: 57.14 Euro plus 10.86 Euro VAT EU: 84.03 Euro plus 15.97 Euro VAT Third country: 193.28 Euro plus 36.72 Euro VAT additional shipping insurance Shipping insurance up to total invoice amount of 25,000 Euros: max. 41.65 Euro over a total invoice amount of 25,000 Euros: 1.8 o/oo USA by individual arrangement after the auction. #Hans Burgkmair #Renaissance #German School #Germany #15th/16th C. #Religious Art #Life of Christ #Paintings.