JOHANN FRIEDRICH OVERBECK (Lübeck, 1789 - Rome, 1869) THE ANNOUNCEMENT Canvas Monogrammed and dated in the centre "FO. / 1820" (the letters F and O linked); bears an old label on the reverse of the frame "T. 27" Old restorations Austrian frame, probably original The Annunciation, canvas, monogrammed and dated in the centre 'FO. / 1820' (F and O linked); bears an old label on the reverse of the frame 'T. 27'. With restorations 79 x 51,50 CM - 31,1 x 20,3 IN Si vous souhaitez enchérir sur ce lot, nous vous remercions de contacter directement Landry Orizet au +33 1 53 30 30 46 ou à [email protected] / If you wish to bid on this lot, please contact Landry Orizet directly at +33 1 53 30 30 46 or at [email protected] We would like to thank Prof. Dr. Michael Thimann of the Georg-August-Universität in Göttingen, a specialist on the artist and author of the monograph (2014), for confirming the attribution of this painting to Overbeck on the basis of a digital photograph in January 2025 and for pointing out the link between our painting and the one by Peter von Cornelius in Munich. PROVENANCE Always in the family by descent: - Commissioned from the artist in 1815 by Friedrich Ernst Carl Fromm (1776-1846), Senior Councillor of the Court of Appeal of the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, delivered in 1820; - Collection of his daughter Bertha Fromm (1819-1905). She married prof. Dr Friedrich Hermann Stannius on 1 October 1841 in Rostock; - Collection of her daughter Bertha Stannius (1844-1915). She married Hermann Ernst Christian Förster on 28 May 1874 in Rostock; - Collection of her daughter Margarete Auguste Sophie Emma Johanna Förster (1878 - ?). She married Geoorg Willibald Gustav Adolf Franz Bernhard, Baron von Vietinghoff-Scheel on 2 October 1897 in Göttingen; - Collection of her daughter Ilse Bertha Valeska, Baroness von Vietinghoff-Scheel (1899-1990). She married Hellmuth Heinrich Hermann Ernst Castorf on 5 December 1925 in Kassel; - Collection of her daughter Ilse Marianne Hedwig Castorf (1933-2018); - Collection of her son ; BIBLIOGRAPHY - Letters from Overbeck to his parents and brother, dated 8 June 1820 and 30 May 1823 (see Thimann op. supra., notes 136 and 138); - V. Jent, Emilie Linder 1797-1867. Studie zur Biographie der Basler Kunstsammlerin und Freundin Clemens Brentanos, Berlin, 1970, pp. 28, 30 and 54 (lost painting); - Catalogue of the exhibition I Nazareni a Roma, Rome, Galerie Nationale d'Art Moderne, 22 January - 22 March 1981, cited as no. 69 (lost painting cited by Jent); - M. Thimann, Overbeck und die Bildkonzepte des 19 Jahrhunderts, Regensburg, 2014, pp. 253-255 (lost painting). DISCOVERY OF AN UNPUBLISHED WORK, REMAINED IN THE COMMISSIONER'S FAMILY The discovery of this previously unpublished work, mentioned in Johann Friedrich Overbeck's correspondence and which had remained in the commissioner's family from the outset, is a moving reappearance, given the scarcity of paintings by this artist. Our painting dates from the early days of the Nazarene movement, when it was at its most innovative and Overbeck was its leader. More generally, works by the Nazarenes are almost absent from the art market, since they are almost all on frescoes or kept in German museums (one of the only paintings by Overbeck to have gone on public sale in 2001, was offered on the market at TEFAF in 2023 and then acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2024). Commissioned in 1815 by Friedrich Fromm, President of the Court of Rostock (ill. 1), our work was kept until 1992 with the painting by Peter von Cornelius, The Three Marys at the Tomb (canvas, 63.2 x 75.2 cm), acquired in 1992 by the Neue Pinakothek in Munich (commissioned in 1815, delivered in 1822). Until now, our composition was known only from three graphic works by the artist: The preparatory carton of 1815, delivered with the painting to Friedrich Fromm through Overbeck's parents (acquired by the Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus in Lübeck in 1991, ill. 2); A drawing in black stone, dated 1814 (acquired from the artist in 1831 by Emilie Linder and now in the Kupferstichkabinett in Basel, ill. 3); And a watercolour dated 1816-1817 (given by the artist to Hermann Nolte and now in the Museo Nacional de San Carlos, Mexico). In these last two drawings, The Annunciation forms the left-hand part of a diptych with The Visitation on the right. These drawings show a vase with a lily in the centre, a different pavement and a different landscape. On the canvas (our painting), the artist has removed the vase (a sign of repentance) and added the flowering stem in Gabriel's left hand. He also changed the colour of Joseph's garment. Finally, our painting was lithographed in Hamburg in 1822. These drawings bear witness to Overbeck's long and invaluable work, which he regarded as poetic and spiritual revelations. THE COMPOSITION Arched in the manner of Italian altarpieces, our Annunciation offers a virtuoso synthesis of Gothic and Renaissance elements, drawing inspiration from both the Italian masters and the Northern school. The space is laid out on several levels. In the foreground, a loggia, enclosed by a colonnade adorned with Corinthian capitals, houses the religious scene, evoking Flemish models such as Jan Van Eyck's Virgin and Chancellor Rolin, a connection reinforced by the receding lines of the geometric paving on the floor. It is surmounted by a ribbed vault whose ribs converge at its centre. On the left, following the principles of the Albertian perspective of the Quattrocento, we see a Doric portico, a well equipped with a pulley, followed by a church aisle with a campanile (bell tower wall) in its extension. The church building features a console balcony, inspired by the architecture of the Trecento primitives such as Giotto and Duccio. The construction of the space continues with a balustrade, beyond which a few steps lead up to a garden reminiscent of the medieval Hortus Conclusus, the symbol of Mary's virginity from the Song of Songs: "You are a walled garden, a sealed spring". In the centre of this flowerbed, Saint Joseph appears as a gardener, watering flowers described with the precision of an illuminator: roses (symbol of the Immaculate Conception), columbines, violets, irises and lily of the valley. Further on, beyond a wooden fence, an alpine lakescape is lined with buildings from the Middle Ages: a half-timbered belfry and, on the other side of the bank, a Gothic church with its spire-shaped roof. To the right, the walls of a medieval castle on a rocky escarpment are reminiscent of Albrecht Dürer's watercolour View of the Arco Valley (Musée du Louvre). The figures are inspired by the masters of the Florentine and Umbrian Renaissance, the gentle manner of Perugino and the Pinturicchio, from a number of sources. The archangel Gabriel, in a reverent posture, carries a branch of lily, symbolising the Virgin's purity. Mary was reading when God's messenger was announced, and her face is marked by a gentle expression of humility. The Virgin's face was already in place in 1811 by Overbeck in his painting Madonna before the Wall (panel, 30.6 x 23.2 cm) from 1811 (ill. 4, kept at the Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus in Lübeck, Inv.-Nr. Gm 296). In the sky, the dove of the Holy Spirit is discreetly integrated, in perfect vertical alignment with Saint Joseph. The whole painting is bathed in a soft, even, crystalline light, characteristic of the Quattrocento. The limpidity of the sky and the shape of the clouds are reminiscent of Bellini, Cima da Conegliano and the Raphaels painted around 1500. THE NAZAREEN MOVEMENT In 1809, Overbeck and Franz Pforr opposed the neoclassical aesthetic as defined by Winckelmann. They seceded from the teaching they received at the Vienna Academy and, together with other artists, founded the Guild of Saint Luke (Lukasbund). The same year, they moved to Rome. They converted to Catholicism and took the name "Nazarenes". (Overbeck came from a Protestant family and converted to Catholicism in 1813). They were joined by Philipp Veit, Peter von Cornelius, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow and others. Their aim was to regenerate painting by returning to the original purity of early Christian art of the Quattrocento, studying the works of Dürer and those of Raphael's first period, before 1507, in Umbria and Florence. Following the example of Fra Angelico, they wanted to express pure feelings and reconcile the Ideal with Reality. They lived in the abandoned monastery of San Isidoro on Monte Pincio and called each other brothers, each living and working in a monk's cell - the first association of painters in the Modern Age. After Pforr's untimely death in 1812, Overbeck remained the sole leader. After the arrival of Cornelius in 1811, the fraternity was commissioned to decorate the frescoes in the palace of Jacob Salomon Bartholdy, Prussian Consul General (now on display at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin) and then the hunting lodge of Prince Francesco Massimo, still in place at the Lateran in Rome. After 1818, most of the members of the brotherhood were appointed to head a German academy, with the exception of Overbeck, who, despite similar requests, chose to remain in Rome. He painted the group's two manifestos, the famous Italia and Germania (1811-1829, Munich, Neue Pinakothek, ill. 4), and the Triumph of Religion in the Arts (1840, Frankfurt, Städel Museum). Our painting influenced the young Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794 - 1872) in The Family of Saint John the Baptist Visiting the Family of Christ of 1817 (Gemäldegalderie, Dresden) and in his own Annunciation of 1818 (Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, ill. 5), which show plastic solutions quite similar to those of Overbeck. Commissioned in 1815 on the basis of a drawing, our painting is an exceptional testimony to the beginnings of the Nazarene movement by its major protagonist. DISCOVERY OF AN ORIGINAL WORK, REMAINED IN THE FAMILY OF THE COMMISSIONER The discovery of this previously unknown work, mentioned in Johann Friedrich Overbeck's correspondence (see Jent and Thimann) and kept in the commissioner's family from the outset, is a moving reappearance, given the scarcity of paintings by this artist. Our painting dates from the early days of the Nazarene movement, when it was at its most innovative and Overbeck was its leader. More generally, works by the Nazarenes are almost non-existent on the art market, since they are almost all on frescoes or in German museums. Commissioned in 1815 by Friedrich Fromm, President of the Court of Rostock, our work was kept until 1992 with Peter von Cornelius's painting The Three Marys at the Tomb (canvas, 63.2 x 75.2 cm), acquired in 1992 by the Neue Pinakothek in Munich (commissioned in 1815, delivered in 1822). Until now, our composition was known only through three graphic works by the artist: The preparatory carton of 1815, delivered with the painting to Friedrich Fromm through Overbeck's parents (acquired by the Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus in Lübeck in 1991, ill. 2). See Thimann, op.cit. note 137; A drawing in black chalk, dated 1814 (acquired from the artist in 1831 by Emilie Linder and now in the Kupferstichkabinett in Basel, ill. 3); And a watercolour dated 1816-1817 (given by the artist to Hermann Nolte and now in the Museo Nacional de San Carlos, Mexico. In these last two drawings, The Annunciation forms the left-hand part of a diptych with The Visitation on the right. These drawings show a vase with a lily in the centre, a different pavement and a different landscape. On the canvas (our painting), the artist has removed the vase (a sign of repentance) and added the flowering stem in Gabriel's left hand. He also changed the colour of Joseph's garment. Finally, our painting was lithographed in Hamburg in 1822. These drawings illustrate Overbeck's long and invaluable work, which he regarded as poetic and spiritual. THE COMPOSITION Arched in the style of Italian altarpieces, our Annunciation is a virtuoso blend of Gothic and Renaissance elements, inspired as much by the Italian masters as by those of the Northern School. The space is laid out on several levels. In the foreground, a loggia, enclosed by a colonnade adorned with Corinthian capitals, houses the religious scene, evoking Flemish models such as Jan Van Eyck's Virgin and Chancellor Rolin (Musée du Louvre), a connection reinforced by the receding lines of the geometric paving on the floor. It is surmounted by a ribbed vault whose ribs converge at its centre. On the left, following the principles of the Albertian perspective of the Quattrocento, we see a Doric portico, a well equipped with a pulley, followed by a church aisle with a campanile (bell tower wall) in its extension. The church building features a console balcony, inspired by the architecture of the Trecento primitives such as Giotto and Duccio. The construction of the space continues with a balustrade, beyond which a few steps lead to a garden reminiscent of the medieval Hortus Conclusus, a symbol of Mary's virginity taken from the Song of Songs: 'You are a walled garden, a sealed spring'. In the centre of this flowerbed, Saint Joseph appears as a gardener, watering flowers described with the precision of an illuminator: roses (symbolising the immaculate conception), columbines, violets, irises and lily of the valley. Further on, beyond a wooden fence, an alpine lakescape is lined with buildings from the Middle Ages: a half-timbered belfry and, on the other side of the bank, a Gothic church with its spire-shaped roof. To the right, the walls of a medieval castle on a rocky escarpment are reminiscent of Albrecht Dürer's watercolour View of the Arco Valley (Musée du Louvre). The figures are inspired by the masters of the Florentine and Umbrian Renaissance, the gentle manner of Perugino and the Pinturicchio, from a variety of sources. The archangel Gabriel, in a reverent posture, carries a branch of lily, symbolising the Virgin's purity. Mary was reading when God's messenger was announced, and her face is marked by a gentle expression of humility. The Virgin's face was introduced as early as 1811 by Overbeck in his painting Madonna before the Wall (panel, 30.6 x 23.2 cm) from 1811 (ill.4, kept at the Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus in Lübeck). The dove of the Holy Spirit is discreetly integrated into the sky, in perfect vertical alignment with Saint Joseph. The whole painting is bathed in a soft, even, crystalline light, characteristic of the Quattrocento. The limpidity of the sky and the shape of the clouds are reminiscent of Bellini, Cima da Conegliano and the Raphaels painted around 1500. THE NAZARENE MOVEMENT In 1809, Overbeck and Franz Pforr rejected the neoclassical aesthetic as defined by Winckelmann. They seceded from the teaching they received at the Vienna Academy and, together with other artists, founded the Guild of St Luke (Lukasbund). The same year, they moved to Rome. They converted to Catholicism and took the name 'Nazarenes'. Overbeck came from a Protestant family and converted to Catholicism in 1813. He was joined by Philipp Veit, Peter von Cornelius, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow and others. Their aim was to regenerate painting by returning to the original purity of early Christian art in the Quattrocento period, studying the works of Dürer and those of Raphael's first period, before 1507, in Umbria and Florence. Following the example of Fra Angelico, they wanted to express pure feelings and reconcile the Ideal with Reality. They lived in the abandoned monastery of San Isidoro on Monte Pincio and called each other brothers, each living and working in a monk's cell - the first association of painters in the Modern Age. After Pforr's untimely death in 1812, Overbeck remained the sole leader. After the arrival of Cornelius in 1811, the brotherhood was commissioned to decorate the frescoes in the palace of Jacob Salomon Bartholdy, Prussian consul general (now on display at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin) and then the hunting lodge of Prince Francesco Massimo, still in place at the Lateran in Rome. After 1818, most of the members of the brotherhood were appointed to head a German academy, with the exception of Overbeck, who, despite similar requests, chose to remain in Rome. He painted the group's two manifestos, the famous Italia and Germania (1811-1829, Munich, Neue Pinakothek, ill. 5), and the Triumph of Religion in the Arts (1840, Frankfurt, Städel Museum). Our painting influenced the young Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872) in The Family of Saint John the Baptist Visiting the Family of Christ of 1817 (Gemäldegalderie, Dresden) and in his own Annunciation of 1818 (Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin), which show plastic solutions quite similar to those of Overbeck.