Joan Reixach (active in Valencia 1431 - 1482 / 1495) 'Saint Elizabeth of Hungary' and 'Saint James the Great' Pair of fragments from an altarpiece. Tempera and gold ground on panel. Valencia, circa 1450–1470. 58 x 19,5 x 2,5 cm and 58 x 19,5 x 2 cm.   A certificate by Dr. Alberto Velasco González is attached, in which he confirms the attribution of this previously unpublished pair to the Valencian painter, as they are not recorded in the existing bibliography on the artist. Below is Velasco’s justification for this attribution: “As for the attribution, the style and the type of figures represented leave no doubt as to their inclusion in the catalogue of works by Joan Reixac. For example, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary finds a close parallel in a small fragment of a predella (18.5 x 30 cm), horizontal in format, preserved in a private collection and depicting the same saint (fig. 6). Apart from the great similarity in the faces of the two saints, we see a similar type of jewelled crown with cabochon settings, the same way of holding the roses, and the fact that the saint in both cases wears a very similar white wimple and that the mantle is fastened around the neck in an analogous manner. The treatment of the folds in the garments is also very similar in both works. With regard to Saint James the Greater, a direct parallel can be found in the depiction of the same figure in the main panel of the dismantled Altarpiece of Saint James and Saint Giles the Abbot, originally from the Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Valencia, a work dated to around 1450–1460 (fig. 7). This panel is now preserved in the Museu de Belles Arts de València and is one of Reixac’s finest works. Despite differences in size and type of representation, we see in both cases that the saint is portrayed similarly, with identical attributes such as the book, the hat, and the pilgrim’s satchel, the latter two decorated with scallop shells. The resemblance extends even to the pink inner garment and the long camel-hair tunic worn over it, as well as the type of sandals. The depiction of the saint’s head is likewise similar, with a slightly oval face and a modest beard. In Reixac’s catalogue we also find a third comparable depiction: the Saint James preserved in the church of La Pobla de Vallbona.”   Regarding the chronology, the scholar states: “Chronologically, the two predella fragments under discussion exhibit a style close to works by Reixac that are firmly dated through documentation. This is the case of the Saint Benedict from the Cathedral Museum of Valencia, connected with a commission to the painter in 1448, while the aforementioned altarpiece from Xàtiva is documented in 1452. Likewise, a Saint Margaret in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya has been dated to around 1456, as it may have formed part of the altarpiece commissioned that year for the town of Bocairent (Valencia). [...] These references, together with the Altarpiece of Saint James and Saint Giles the Abbot [...] dated between 1450 and 1460, allow us to place our predella fragments within a chronological range between 1450 and 1470, the period in which the painter also produced the altarpieces of Catí and Poblet.”   He also provides a rich and detailed description of the works, which we reproduce here: Saint Elizabeth of Hungary “is shown standing, slightly turned towards her right side. She wears a brown tunic, a violet-coloured mantle, and a white widow’s wimple on her head, as well as a golden crown. The mantle displays a series of tubular, zigzag-shaped folds of a brittle nature, typical of the late Gothic tradition. Using her mantle, the saint holds a few white and red roses in her lap, one of her traditional attributes. Her serene face, with simple yet delicate features, is distinguished by a penetrating gaze directed to her right. This indicates that this predella fragment was located on the right-hand side of the altarpiece, from the viewer’s perspective.” “Saint James the Greater is depicted in a similar way, facing to his right and also shown full-length (fig. 2). The representation thus suggests that this fragment also formed part of the right-hand section of the original predella. As usual, the saint is characterised as a pilgrim, wearing a pink inner tunic over which is draped a dark camel-hair robe, with a dark cloak fastened at the neck, sandals, and a staff to aid in walking. He also carries a satchel and the characteristic wide-brimmed hat, both decorated with scallop shells—other typical symbols of the iconography of Saint James. Finally, he holds a red-covered book in his left hand. The space in which both figures stand is defined solely by a tiled floor depicted in perspective, characteristic of Valencian painting of the fifteenth century and frequently found in Reixac’s works, where two different types of tiles are combined.” “Above the floor appears the characteristic gilded background made with gold leaf, adorned with delicate punchwork covering the entire surface, consisting of vegetal motifs arranged along a band that runs around the inner perimeter of the panel. This punchwork clearly refers to the Valencian tradition and is typical of Reixac’s works.”   Joan Reixach was an important Valencian gothic painter, who trained with Jacomart. He painted numerous reredos, such as that of Saint Ursula and the hundred thousand virgins kept at the MNAC in Barcelona, that of Saint Martin, for Segorbe Cathedral and that of Saint Catherine the martyr in the Parish Church of Our Lady in Villahermosa del Río, among other paintings. There are also examples of his work in the Prado, in the Goya Museum in Castres, France, the Segorbe Cathedral Museum, the Collegiate Basilica of Xàtiva, the Norton Simon Foundation in Pasadena, the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts, etc.   This lot has been imported, therefore its exportation permit from the Spanish Ministry of Culture is guaranteed and is exempt from spanish culture export duties.   Provenance: - Private collection. Italy. - Private collection. Barcelona.