The Virgin and Child on a Grassy Bank

Hans Tietsche, who was the first to publish this picture in 1906, immediately underlined its evident affinity with Cranach’s paintings of the Virgin and Child from the second decade of the sixteenth century [1]

In 1949, Max J. Friedländer proposed an attribution to Cranach himself, but this has not been followed by any later scholars. Letter dated Amsterdam 23 October 1949. Cited by Grabski, Literature, 1990, p. 126.

In stylistic terms the date of 1522 on the present panel would seem entirely consistent with a knowledge of Cranach’s work at this date.

Given these numerous parallels with the work of Lucas Cranach we might surmise that the Master of the Piasecka Johnson Madonna may　perhaps have worked in Saxony. His precise identity, however, remains as elusive as ever.

[1] H. Tietze, 'Ein Bild aus der Werkstätte Lukas Cranachs', in Mitteilungen der K. K. Zentralkommission für Erforschung und Erhaltung der Kunst- und Historischen Denkmale, 3. F. vol. V, Vienna 1906, pp. 176–79, reproduced fig. 61

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The subject of Maria auf der Rasenbank or the Virgin on a grassy bank, stemmed from a combination of two earlier Marian iconographic themes, the Madonna of Humility and the Madonna in the Rose garden. The grassy bank and the posture of the Virgin seated upon it are symbolic of Mary’s humility, while the grapes that she proffers her Son are symbolic of the blood of Christ and hence forewarn of His Passion to come. Iconographically this type, with the Virgin seated full-length in a landscape, was derived in German art from the earlier work of Martin Schongauer (circa 1440–91) and particularly Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), who had both explored the theme in a series of woodcuts and engravings from the 1480s onwards, notably the former’s engraving of the same subject of 1480–81 and the latter’s Holy Family with a dragonfly of 1494–96.

[Sotheby's online database: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2014/old-master-british-paintings-evening-l14033/lot.54.html?locale=en] (accessed 13.08.2019)