Portrait of a Canon (probably Canon Johann Rieper of Brixen)
- Date
- c.1520
- Material
- Oil on panel
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- European Art to 1800
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 236E
- Dimensions
- 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. (40 x 29.8 cm)
framed: 28 1/2 x 24 3/8 x 2 3/8 in. (72.4 x 61.9 x 6 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 10:1915
NOTES
The great attention paid to individual strands of hair, the beard stubble visible on his cheek and chin, and the crisp representation of form attest to the artist’s careful observation of his subject. While tradition holds that this man was Canon Johann Rieper of the northern Italian town of Brixen (Bressanone), few other contemporary images of Rieper exist to make identification certain. The cap that he wears, however, suggests that he was a canon, a cleric who lived in community with others. Images made by infrared reflectography reveal that the artist made the subject’s left cheek slimmer and adjustments were made to the nose and hat.
Provenance
Private Collection, Poland [1]
- 1906
Leo Nardus (1868-1930) of Suresnes, France, and New York, NY, USA
1906 - 1909
Peter A. B. Widener (1834-1915), Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park (near Philadelphia), PA, purchased from Leo Nardus [2]
1909 -
Leo Nardus (1868-1930) of Suresnes, France, and New York, NY, acquired from Peter A. B. Widener
by 1911 - 1915
F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc., New York, NY [3]
1915 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. [4]
Notes:
The main source for the provenance is the 1908 publication of the Widener collection in which the painting is attributed to Albrecht Dürer and titled "Portrait of the Duke of Brandenburg." The catalogue entry specifies Widener's purchase from Nardus in 1906 and is annotated with the fact that it sold by Widener to Nardus in 1909 ["Catalogue of Paintings forming the Private Collection of P. A. B. Widener." 1908, p. 148, annotated copy, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] A wax seal on the back of the painting, probably from the late 19th century, reads: "BRADÁCS/ GYULA/ KIRÁLYI/ KÖZJEGYZO/ UNGVÁRT," with the coat of arms of Hungary [see photograph of seal, SLAM document files]. The text translates as: "Gyula Bradács Royal Notary of Public at Ungvár." The seal signifies that Gyula Brádacs Royal Notary of Public at Ungvár (now called Uzhgorod, Ukraine) worked for the monarchy in this capacity, but it does not necessarily indicate that the painting was part of his personal collection. Given Brádacs role as a notary, there are numerous reasons as to why his seal would appear on the verso of the painting. Nonetheless, the Hungarian seal supports the notion that the painting formerly belonged to a Polish collection since a portion of Poland was ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
[2] In addition to the Museum's painting, Nardus sold several other works to Widener in the early 20th century ["Leo Nardus," National Gallery of Art website, accessed October 25, 2005,].
F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. also explains the painting's appearance in the United States before it was sold to the Museum: "the picture is such an exceptionally fine example that for many years it was considered to be an 'Albrecht Dürer.' It was sold for a very large sum of money to a well known collection here in this country and was here for many years, however after being thoroughly examined by experts (and attributed to Amberger versus Dürer) was afterward sent to Europe and then purchased by us" [letter dated April 28, 1915, SLAM document files]. It should be noted that the invoice from F. Kleinberger Galleries Inc., lists the attribution as Christoph Amberger (invoice dated February 11, 1915, SLAM document files]. The "well known collection here in this country" is Peter A. B. Widener, and is supported by the 1908 publication of the Widener collection. In addition to the 1908 catalogue, several other sources reference Widener's ownership including articles from 1929 and 1960 which illustrate the painting and lists its former owner as Widener [Friedländer, Max J. "Der Meister des Angrer-Bildnisses." "Der Cicerone" XXL (1929), p.6; Egg, Erich. "Marx Reichlich: Der Meister des Angererbildnisses." "Zeitschrift für Kunstwissenschaft" Vol. XIV No. 1-2 (1960), p. 11, fig. 6]. Egg's 1960 article attributes the painting to Marx Reichlich, identifies the sitter as Canon Johann Rieper, and erroneously places it in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
[3] The painting was on the market by 1911 when it was listed in a catalogue of paintings for sale by Kleinberger Galleries ["A Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of 150 Paintings by Old Masters of the Dutch, Flemish, German, Italian, Spanish, and French Schools from Kleinberger Galleries." Paris and New York, 1911, cat. no. 118].
[4] Invoice from F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. dated February 11, 1915 [SLAM document files, see note [2]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, March 4, 1915.
- 1906
Leo Nardus (1868-1930) of Suresnes, France, and New York, NY, USA
1906 - 1909
Peter A. B. Widener (1834-1915), Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park (near Philadelphia), PA, purchased from Leo Nardus [2]
1909 -
Leo Nardus (1868-1930) of Suresnes, France, and New York, NY, acquired from Peter A. B. Widener
by 1911 - 1915
F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc., New York, NY [3]
1915 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. [4]
Notes:
The main source for the provenance is the 1908 publication of the Widener collection in which the painting is attributed to Albrecht Dürer and titled "Portrait of the Duke of Brandenburg." The catalogue entry specifies Widener's purchase from Nardus in 1906 and is annotated with the fact that it sold by Widener to Nardus in 1909 ["Catalogue of Paintings forming the Private Collection of P. A. B. Widener." 1908, p. 148, annotated copy, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] A wax seal on the back of the painting, probably from the late 19th century, reads: "BRADÁCS/ GYULA/ KIRÁLYI/ KÖZJEGYZO/ UNGVÁRT," with the coat of arms of Hungary [see photograph of seal, SLAM document files]. The text translates as: "Gyula Bradács Royal Notary of Public at Ungvár." The seal signifies that Gyula Brádacs Royal Notary of Public at Ungvár (now called Uzhgorod, Ukraine) worked for the monarchy in this capacity, but it does not necessarily indicate that the painting was part of his personal collection. Given Brádacs role as a notary, there are numerous reasons as to why his seal would appear on the verso of the painting. Nonetheless, the Hungarian seal supports the notion that the painting formerly belonged to a Polish collection since a portion of Poland was ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
[2] In addition to the Museum's painting, Nardus sold several other works to Widener in the early 20th century ["Leo Nardus," National Gallery of Art website, accessed October 25, 2005,
F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. also explains the painting's appearance in the United States before it was sold to the Museum: "the picture is such an exceptionally fine example that for many years it was considered to be an 'Albrecht Dürer.' It was sold for a very large sum of money to a well known collection here in this country and was here for many years, however after being thoroughly examined by experts (and attributed to Amberger versus Dürer) was afterward sent to Europe and then purchased by us" [letter dated April 28, 1915, SLAM document files]. It should be noted that the invoice from F. Kleinberger Galleries Inc., lists the attribution as Christoph Amberger (invoice dated February 11, 1915, SLAM document files]. The "well known collection here in this country" is Peter A. B. Widener, and is supported by the 1908 publication of the Widener collection. In addition to the 1908 catalogue, several other sources reference Widener's ownership including articles from 1929 and 1960 which illustrate the painting and lists its former owner as Widener [Friedländer, Max J. "Der Meister des Angrer-Bildnisses." "Der Cicerone" XXL (1929), p.6; Egg, Erich. "Marx Reichlich: Der Meister des Angererbildnisses." "Zeitschrift für Kunstwissenschaft" Vol. XIV No. 1-2 (1960), p. 11, fig. 6]. Egg's 1960 article attributes the painting to Marx Reichlich, identifies the sitter as Canon Johann Rieper, and erroneously places it in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
[3] The painting was on the market by 1911 when it was listed in a catalogue of paintings for sale by Kleinberger Galleries ["A Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of 150 Paintings by Old Masters of the Dutch, Flemish, German, Italian, Spanish, and French Schools from Kleinberger Galleries." Paris and New York, 1911, cat. no. 118].
[4] Invoice from F. Kleinberger Galleries, Inc. dated February 11, 1915 [SLAM document files, see note [2]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, March 4, 1915.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.