Lot number 3410 - Auction 150
DER HELDENTOD DES IM DIENSTE DES KAISERS KARLS V. STEHENDEN PAULUS VON HENFENFELD

SOUTH GERMAN SCHOOL, PROBABLY AUGSBURG OR LANDSHUT, AROUND 1550 ("In the circle or following Jörg Breu the Younger or Melchior Feselen") After 1510 in Augsburg-1547 Augsburg - 1495 in Passau-1538 Ingolstadt THE HEROIC DEATH OF PAULUS VON HENFENFELD IN THE SERVICE OF EMPEROR CHARLES V. Oil on wood panel (cradled). 98 x 66.5 cm. Verso: remains of historical newspaper clippings about Henfenfeld Castle in the Hersbrucker Alb and the Nuremberg patrician Martin von Pfinzing. At the bottom of the painting with Latin inscription: 'PAVLO PFINTZINGO AB HENFFENFELDT, NIORIS FILIO, CAROLI V ROM: IMP: ET REGIS AB CONSILIIS ET SECRETIS CVM GE- TERIS ORBANTIBVS AETERNAM SVI NOMI- RELINQVIT, PROCVL A PATRIA ACERBI.' Paulus Pfintzing von Henfenfeld, son of Noris (Nuremberg), advisor and secret secretary to Charles V, Roman Emperor and King, left behind - while his loved ones mourned him - an eternal memory of his name, far from home, in bitter pain." Part. old rest., part. min. old retouching, stress cracks, loss of colour. The scene depicted shows a dramatic, antique-style battle scene with Paulus Pfintzing, who dies in military service and on diplomatic mission for Charles V. Several warriors are depicted on horseback and on foot. Paulus von Pfintzing lies in the centre with a bleeding forehead wound and a red cloak on the ground - presumably dead or seriously injured. Another man seems to be taking a last look back as he moves away and is captured. The landscape in the background shows an idealised ruined city with a ray of light falling from the sky - perhaps a sign of divine grace or a symbol of eternity. The imagery, with the central figure on the ground in front of the horse, is reminiscent of comparable compositions of the "Conversion of Saint Paul", which must be interpreted as a deliberate stylistic device in the sense of a reference to the name ("Paulus"). Stylistically, the painting is close to the works of Melchior Feselen (c. 1500-1538) from Landshut, or rather his school. Feselen, who is certainly not the originator of the composition, is known for his detailed and narrative historical scenes with antique costumes and very dense staffage. His frequently expansive landscapes with castles and dramatic figures resemble the composition reproduced here. Another source of inspiration for the painting offered here may have been the work of Jörg Breus the Younger (c. 1510-1547) from Augsburg. Breus' court painter-like style, with clearly structured scenes and great figurative pathos, the type of body depictions with dramatic movements and bright colours, was entirely in line with the tastes of his often humanistically inclined patrons. Further sources of inspiration for the artist were probably paintings by Hans Bocksberger the Elder from Salzburg (c. 1510-1561) and Georg Lemberger from Landshut/Passau (c. 1540), both of whom frequently worked for bourgeois humanist patrons and painted scenes with humanistic pathos, historiographical interest and biblical-antique rhetoric. Provenance: Private collection, North Rhine-Wetsphalia.