Mary Salome and Zebedee with their Sons James the Greater and John the Evangelist
- Date
- c.1511
- Material
- Oil on panel
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- European Art to 1800
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 222
- Dimensions
- 22 3/4 x 13 3/4 in. (57.8 x 34.9 cm)
framed: 26 1/4 x 16 1/2 in. (66.7 x 41.9 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 175:1951
NOTES
A seated infant holding a golden chalice can only be identified as St. John the Evangelist who, as an adult, was challenged by a pagan priest to drink from a poisoned cup. He was the youngest of Christ’s apostles, one of two sons born to the Virgin Mary’s sister, Mary Salome. The older child is John’s brother, St. James the Greater, who holds a walking stick. The stick is a pointed reference to the pilgrims who came to visit St. James’s burial site in northern Spain during the Middle Ages. Although a fisherman, Mary’s husband Zebedee was a man of means, an idea conveyed by his fashionable hat and his cape lined with precious fur.
Provenance
Wittelsbach Family, the Royal Family of Bavaria, Castle Schleissheim (Schloss Schleissheim), Munich, Germany [1]
Orterer Collection, Munich, Germany [2]
by 1910 -
A. S. Drey, Munich, Germany; New York, NY, USA [3]
c.1910 - 1951
Watson B. Dickerman (1846-1923), New York, NY; Mrs. Watson B. Dickerman (Florence Elaine Dickerman, d.1963), New York, NY; Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY, by inheritance [4]
1951 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., acting as agent for Mrs. Watson B. Dickerman [5]
Notes:
[1] According to Germain Seligman of Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., the painting was previously owned by the Wittelsbach family [letter dated May 7, 1951; invoice from Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc. dated May 26, 1951, SLAM document files]. It is unknown when the painting entered or left the collection.
Since dates of ownership remain unknown, several sources concerning Castle Schleissheim were consulted including an 1831 inventory of the collection, as well as documents from an 1852 auction of property from Schleissheim [copies, SLAM document files]. After reviewing the list of works attributed to Kulmbach, the painting was not listed in either source. However, the painting was previously attributed to Albrecht Dürer (it was not attributed to Kulmbach until the early twentieth century) and has been ascribed various titles including "Holy Family" and "Zacharias and His Family" [see "Loan Exhibition of Masterpieces by Old Modern Painters." New York: M. Knoedler & Co., 1915, pp. 7-8; various correspondence, SLAM document files]. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that the painting could not be located in the aforementioned documents because of its attribution history.
[2] The 1951 invoice (see note [1]) and 1936 catalogue raisonné note that the painting was formerly in the Orterer collection [Stadler, Franz. "Hans von Kulmbach." Vienna: Anton Schroll & Co., 1936, p. 71, cat. no. 71].
[3] In a letter written to Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., the renowned art historian Max Friedländer states (translated from German): "I examined the painting in 1910 at Drey in Munich" [letter dated November 17, 1950, SLAM document files]. "Drey" refers to the art dealer A. S. Drey who may have served as the agent for Orterer's sale of the painting to Watson B. Dickerman. Stadler's 1936 catalogue raisonné (see note [2]) states A. S. Drey brought the painting to America to be purchased; the publication does not list Dickerman as the owner [Stadler, Franz. "Hans von Kulmbach." Vienna: Anton Schroll & Co., 1936, p. 71, cat. no. 71]. According to the Museum accession record the painting was with "Orterer, Munich (then via A. S. Drey to) Watson B. Dickerman, New York" [SLAM document files].
[4] See note [3]. A document presumably created by Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc. in preparation of Mrs. Dickerman's sale of the painting in 1951 states that it was purchased by Watson B. Dickerman shortly after 1910 [SLAM document files]. Dickerman lent the work to a 1915 exhibition at Knoedler & Co., New York ["Masterpieces by Old and Modern Painters." New York, 1915, p. 7, cat. no. 6]. Curt Valentin of Buchholz Gallery, New York, who originally showed the painting to the Museum on behalf of Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., also noted that the work was "apparently in a New York private collection for the last forty years" [letter dated March 21, 1951, SLAM document files].
[5] Valentin's 1951 letter (see note [4]) mentions that "Seligmann has the picture on consignment." The Museum accession record also indicates that Seligmann acted as an agent for Mrs. Watson B. Dickerman. Invoice dated May 26, 1951 (see note [1]) and signed bill of sale dated August 31, 1951 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, June 11, 1951.
Orterer Collection, Munich, Germany [2]
by 1910 -
A. S. Drey, Munich, Germany; New York, NY, USA [3]
c.1910 - 1951
Watson B. Dickerman (1846-1923), New York, NY; Mrs. Watson B. Dickerman (Florence Elaine Dickerman, d.1963), New York, NY; Oyster Bay, Long Island, NY, by inheritance [4]
1951 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., acting as agent for Mrs. Watson B. Dickerman [5]
Notes:
[1] According to Germain Seligman of Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., the painting was previously owned by the Wittelsbach family [letter dated May 7, 1951; invoice from Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc. dated May 26, 1951, SLAM document files]. It is unknown when the painting entered or left the collection.
Since dates of ownership remain unknown, several sources concerning Castle Schleissheim were consulted including an 1831 inventory of the collection, as well as documents from an 1852 auction of property from Schleissheim [copies, SLAM document files]. After reviewing the list of works attributed to Kulmbach, the painting was not listed in either source. However, the painting was previously attributed to Albrecht Dürer (it was not attributed to Kulmbach until the early twentieth century) and has been ascribed various titles including "Holy Family" and "Zacharias and His Family" [see "Loan Exhibition of Masterpieces by Old Modern Painters." New York: M. Knoedler & Co., 1915, pp. 7-8; various correspondence, SLAM document files]. Therefore, it seems reasonable to assume that the painting could not be located in the aforementioned documents because of its attribution history.
[2] The 1951 invoice (see note [1]) and 1936 catalogue raisonné note that the painting was formerly in the Orterer collection [Stadler, Franz. "Hans von Kulmbach." Vienna: Anton Schroll & Co., 1936, p. 71, cat. no. 71].
[3] In a letter written to Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., the renowned art historian Max Friedländer states (translated from German): "I examined the painting in 1910 at Drey in Munich" [letter dated November 17, 1950, SLAM document files]. "Drey" refers to the art dealer A. S. Drey who may have served as the agent for Orterer's sale of the painting to Watson B. Dickerman. Stadler's 1936 catalogue raisonné (see note [2]) states A. S. Drey brought the painting to America to be purchased; the publication does not list Dickerman as the owner [Stadler, Franz. "Hans von Kulmbach." Vienna: Anton Schroll & Co., 1936, p. 71, cat. no. 71]. According to the Museum accession record the painting was with "Orterer, Munich (then via A. S. Drey to) Watson B. Dickerman, New York" [SLAM document files].
[4] See note [3]. A document presumably created by Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc. in preparation of Mrs. Dickerman's sale of the painting in 1951 states that it was purchased by Watson B. Dickerman shortly after 1910 [SLAM document files]. Dickerman lent the work to a 1915 exhibition at Knoedler & Co., New York ["Masterpieces by Old and Modern Painters." New York, 1915, p. 7, cat. no. 6]. Curt Valentin of Buchholz Gallery, New York, who originally showed the painting to the Museum on behalf of Jacques Seligmann & Co., Inc., also noted that the work was "apparently in a New York private collection for the last forty years" [letter dated March 21, 1951, SLAM document files].
[5] Valentin's 1951 letter (see note [4]) mentions that "Seligmann has the picture on consignment." The Museum accession record also indicates that Seligmann acted as an agent for Mrs. Watson B. Dickerman. Invoice dated May 26, 1951 (see note [1]) and signed bill of sale dated August 31, 1951 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, June 11, 1951.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.