Lot 1020 Dα

The painting is an addition to Willem Key's œuvre. Best known for his portraits, the master made some religious compositions as well. Son of a goldsmith he grew up in Breda before moving in the twenties to Antwerp where he was trained in 1529 by Pieter Coecke van Aelst, one of the leading painters of the city. Carel van Mander reveals in his Schilderboeck that he studied further with Lambert Lombard in Liège. In 1542 he is established in Antwerp and received as free master in the painter's guild of which he became dean in 1552. Only few of his works are signed and dated hence his devotional paintings can only be identified by their style and the typology of the figures.
According to Dr K. Jonckheere, specialist of the artist who has inspected the panel first hand, the Virgin and Child are from the master's hand while the three other figures have been executed by an assistant, probably Adriaen Thomasz. Key, his closest known collaborator. The facial types of the Christ Child and His mother are comparable to those of the Holy Family in Pommersfelden (Schloss Weissenstein) one of Willem Key's late work. The infant blond curly hair and His chubby body are quite similar. The light brown contour line of His body is typical of the painter's technique. Also the rendering of the Virgin's right hand knuckles is characteristic of his manner. As for saint Joseph and saint Elisabeth their strongly marked faces remind greatly those of Adriaen Thomasz.
Dr Jonckheere dates the painting in the sixties, last decade of Willem's life, a period of intense collaboration between the two artists.