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An image of Portraits of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere and his wife Elizabeth Donche by Ambrosius Benson An image of Portraits of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere and his wife Elizabeth Donche by Ambrosius Benson An image of Portraits of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere and his wife Elizabeth Donche by Ambrosius Benson
Alternate image of Portraits of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere and his wife Elizabeth Donche by Ambrosius Benson Alternate image of Portraits of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere and his wife Elizabeth Donche by Ambrosius Benson

Ambrosius Benson

(Flanders died 1550)

Title
Portraits of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere and his wife Elizabeth Donche
Year
circa 1540
Media category
Painting
Materials used
diptych: oil on panel
Dimensions

30.1 x 54.0cm overall:

a - Portrait of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere; 21.6 x 18.5cm; sight

a - Portrait of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere; 30.1 x 27cm; panel

b - Portait of Elizabeth Donche; 21.2 x 18.6cm; sight

b - Portait of Elizabeth Donche; 30.1 x 27cm; panel

Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
Credit
Gift of James Fairfax AO 1994
Accession number
301.1994.a-b
Location
15th–19th c European art
Further information

Although born in Lombardy, the principal activity of this Netherlandish painter and portraitist was in Bruges, the northern city which supplied his audience and his livelihood. A prolific author of devotional panels in the tradition of Jan van Eyck, Gerard David and even Hugo van der Goes, Benson had a miniaturist's capability and love of detail. His religious images - by far the bulk of his output and frequently made for export to France and Italy - possess a note of introspection which carries over to his secular efforts. In the case of this flawlessly preserved pair of pendant portraits, the sitters seem as alert to their own interior imaginings as to any dialogue with each other or the external world. Small in scale, they were designed primarily for ease of storage, transport and display. Benson's typically warm palette is well demonstrated, especially in the clothing.

AGNSW Handbook, 1999.

Provenance (8)

James Oswald Fairfax AC (Australia, b.1933), Jul 1989-30 Jun 1994, Bowral/New South Wales/Australia, Gift of James Fairfax 1994. Purchased by James Fairfax 1989 through Consultart, A.G., Geneva.

Dover Street Gallery, London (England), 1988-Jul 1989, London/England, Purchased by David Fyfe-Jamieson, Dover Street Gallery, through Robert Holden Ltd, London 1988. Sold to James Fairfax, July 1989 through Consultart, A.G., Geneva

Booth Family Collection (United States of America), 1951-1988, Detroit/Michigan/United States of America, by descent to a granddaughter of Ralph and Mary Booth by 1957, remaining in her collection until 1988 when Robert Holden Ltd, London was asked to sell the paintings.

Mary Booth (United States of America, d.1951), 1931-1951, Detroit/Michigan/United States of America, Mrs Ralph Harman Booth

Ralph Harman Booth (United States of America, b.1873, d.1931), 1929-1931, Detroit/Michigan/United States of America, by 1929, Exhibited in 'Flemish primitives' Kleinberger Galleries, New York 1929, nos. 63 and 64 - lent by Ralph H. Booth, Esq.

Koninklijke Kunstzaal Kleykamp (Netherlands), 10 Jun 1924, The Hague/Netherlands, anon. (Kirchner) sale, lot no.1 as by Benson

Rudolph Lepke's Kunst-Auctions-Haus (Germany), 19 Mar 1918, Berlin/Germany, Oppenheim sale, announced for 27 October 1914 but postponed until 19 March 1918, nos.1 and 2, reproduced in catalogue as 'Hans Holbein d.j. oder Ambrosius Benson'.

Baron Albert von Oppenheim (Germany, b.1834, d.1912), circa 1898-19 Mar 1918, Cologne/Germany, as Hans Holbein the younger

Bibliography (19)

John Oliver Hand (Author), Catherine A. Metzger, Ron Spronk, Prayers and portraits: unfolding the Netherlandish diptych, 2006, 36, 37 (illus.), 38-39 (colour illus.). cat.no.2

Louis Sicking (Author), Neptune and the Netherlands, Leiden, 2004, (colour illus.). pl. 3, illustration of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere only

Richard Beresford (England; Australia) (Author), Peter Raissis (Australia) (Author), The James Fairfax collection of old master paintings, drawings and prints, Domain, 2003, 22-23 (colour illus.), 24 (colour illus.), 25-27, 27 (illus.). cat.no. 4, fig.4.5

Bruce James (Australia) (Author), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Director), Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, Domain, 1999, 20 (colour illus.).

Maximiliaan Martens (Art Editor), Bruges and the Renaissance: Memling to Pourbus, Belgium, 1998, vol.1, 144, note 4, 157 (illus.); vol.2, 95 (illus.). cat.no. 64A-B

'Search for lost portraits' by Pieter Donche, Historians of Netherlandish Art Newsletter Nov 1997, Nov 1997, 5 (illus.), 6 (illus.). figures 5, 6 and 7. Illustration on page 6 is of Elizabeth Donche

Art Gallery of New South Wales Annual Report 1994 1994, 1994, 44.

Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874) (Author), The James Fairfax collection of old masters, Domain, 1992. no catalogue numbers

Dover Street Gallery, London (England), Dover Street Gallery catalogue, London, circa 1990, (colour illus.). illustration of both panels, no pagination

Angelica Dülberg, Privatporträts: Geschichte und Ikonologie einer Gattung im 15. und 16. Jahrhundert, Berlin, 1990, 183. nos.20 and 21, figs. 395-6

Max J. Friedlander (Germany, b.1867, d.1958) (Author), Early Netherlandish Painting, Volume XI, Leiden, 1974, 101 (illus.). no. 295, pl.182

Georges Marlier (b.1898, d.1968) (Author), Ambrosius Benson et la peinture à Bruges au temps de Charles-Quint, Belgium, 1957, 254-256, 319. pl. LXXIII, no. 141

Max J. Friedlander (Germany, b.1867, d.1958), Die altniederländische Malerei, Berlin, 1924-1937, vol.11, 1933: 147. no. 295

Harry G. Sperling (Author), Catalogue of a loan exhibition of Flemish primitives in aid of the Free Milk Fund, New York, 1929, 188, 189 (illus.), 190, 191 (illus.). cat.nos. 63 and 64

Cornelis Hofstede de Groot (b.1863, d.1930) (Author), Vente, collection importante, tableaux et sculptures des XVe, XVIe et XVIIE siècles, appartenant à un amateur, The Hague, 10 Jun 1924, 29, (illus.). cat.no. 1

Salomon Reinach (b.1858, d.1932) (Author), Répertoire de peintures du moyen âge et de la Renaissance (1280-1580), Paris, 1905-1923, vol. 5, 1922: 170 (illus.), 204 (illus.). nos.2 and 3

Rudolph Lepke's Kunst-Auctions-Haus (Germany), Collection Baron Albert Oppenheim Cöln, Berlin, 19 Mar 1918, 21 (illus.), 22 (illus.). nos.1 and 2, as 'Hans Holbein d.j. oder Ambrosius Benson'.

'Ambrosius Benson als Bildnismaler' by Max J. Friedlander, pg.139-48, Jahrbuch der Königlich Preuszischen Kunstsammlungen [vol.XXXI] 1910, 1910, 144-7. figs. 6 and 7

Emile Molinier (France, b.1857, d.1906) (Author), Collection du baron Albert Oppenheim, tableaux et objets d'art, Paris, 1904, 7-8 (illus.). nos.19 and 20, pls.16 and 17, as Hans Holbein the younger

Exhibition history (5)

Loan exhibition of Flemish primitives in aid of the Free Milk Fund for Babies, Inc., Kleinberger Galleries, 1929–1929.

The James Fairfax collection of old masters, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 25 Apr 1992–14 Jun 1992.

Bruges and the Renaissance: Memling to Pourbus, Memling Museum - Old Saint John's Hospital, 15 Aug 1998–06 Dec 1998.

The James Fairfax collection of old master paintings, drawings and prints, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 17 Apr 2003–20 Jul 2003.

Prayers and portraits: unfolding the Netherlandish diptych, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 12 Nov 2006–04 Feb 2007.