Auction 84 / Lot 255

Adhesive labels with inventory numbers on the verso. The scene of the Lamentation or Entombment of Christ depicted in the central field is executed according to Western European iconography. Christ's upper body is held on both sides by the Mother of God and John in the open tomb. John's gaze directed towards the viewer contrasts with the suffering face of the Mother of God, whose full attention is directed towards her Son. On the inner sides of the wings are depicted the Evangelist John with his disciple Prochoros, St. Francis, the Prophet Elijah and St. Jerome. On the outer sides of the wings is a reproduction of the Annunciation of the Mother of God. On the attachment above the central panel, the Resurrection of Christ is depicted. Together with the outer sides of the wings and the central panel, the attachment forms a semantic axis. An icon attributed to Nikolaos Tzafoures, which once belonged to the collection of Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna and is now in the Erimitage in St. Petersburg, closely follows the central section of this triptych in terms of pictorial composition. Another triptych closely related in painting style and subject matter, now in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, is also attributed to this important artist, so that the triptych presented here can also be attributed to Tzafoures. Provenance: Louis Beissel Collection, Aachen; his grandson Dr. med. Adolf Thier, Aachen (1889-1964); loan to the Suermondt-Ludwig Museum Aachen (Inv. No. GK 571) 1931 to 1965; Dr. Thier's family.