Lot 1512 Dα

This small panel depicts Saint Bernard in adoration of the Virgin and Child. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was one of the most prominent members of the Cistercian Order and founder of the Abbey of Clairvaux. The work depicts the lactatio motif, with Saint Bernard in his role of “Doctor marianus” obtaining spiritual nourishment from the Virgin's breast. A work with a similar composition attributed to Joos van Cleve which can be found in the Louvre (inv. no. 2230) depicts Saint Bernard against a landscape background, whereas a further work attributed to the same artist and held in the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts in Brussels (inv. no. 370) also dispenses with the landscape motif. All three paintings include a stone balustrade in the lower edge strewn with a still life arrangement of various items, in this work a knife, apples, a book bag, and rosary.