Lot 1686 Nα

Swiss School circa 1560

Hinged Altarpiece with the Crucifixion, Swiss School, circa 1560

The middle section carved from wood, the reverse flattened, with uniformly applied older polychromy. The wings oil on panel.. When opened, the altarpiece depicts a central image of the Crucifixion of Christ surrounded by numerous onlookers and with God the Father presiding above flanked by two angels. The predella depicts the entombment bracketed by two angels holding the instruments of the passion. The interiors of the side panels are painted with scenes of the nativity and the adoration of the magi beneath the donor’s coat-of-arms, and the exteriors with depictions of the annunciation and the flight into Egypt. The latter subject is inscribed with the artist’s monogram “CH”. The author of this enchanting domestic altar made in Switzerland or Solothurn can thus likely be identified as Caspar Härtli, a manuscript and panel painter active in St. Gallen in around 1560.
Wear with minor losses and insect damage. 64 x 73 x 5 cm (when opened).