Lot number 28 - Auction 165
DIE VERKÜNDIGUNG AN DEN HEILIGEN JOACHIM

LAMBERT LOMBARD 1505 Liège - 1566 ibid. THE ANNUNCIATION TO SAINT JOACHIM Oil on oak panel (arched at the top). 116 x 81 cm (F. 135 x 96 cm). Verso: Three vertically inserted battens on the reverse. Part. old rest., part. min. old retouching, three min. rest. vertical cracks due to tension. Frame. Accompanied by an expert opinion by Gwendolyne Denhaene: "Dear Professor, Thank you very much for your letter, as well as for the photograph and the slide of your painting.You are truly a fortunate man, for you possess one of the very rare paintings that can be attributed to Lombard with some degree of certainty. For years I had been searching for this painting; at one time I had obtained a photograph of it from the Rijksbureau voor Kunstdocumentatie in The Hague. In 1957 the picture was in the collection of Kurt Goldschmidt in Düsseldorf, after which its whereabouts became unknown. The Marburg Photo Archive likewise had no knowledge of its location. You can therefore imagine how delighted I was to rediscover this work. This panel, depicting the Annunciation to Joachim, is the counterpart to the painting in the Musée de l'Art Wallon, The Rejected Offering of Joachim (see fig. 16 in my article on the paintings of L. L.). The dimensions, the shape of the panel, the clothing and the sandals of Joachim all support this connection. In my opinion, the panel in the Musée de l'Art Wallon is the work that comes closest to Lombard's graphic production, and I believe that your painting is likewise unmistakably a work by this artist. The weaknesses that may be observed in it are, in my view, due to the fact that Lombard was not an outstanding painter. It is also possible that members of his workshop contributed to its execution. Another interesting detail: the dog appearing at the feet of the shepherds in your painting is also found on a panel from the Saint-Denis Altarpiece (Saint Dionysius before Fescennius, see fig. 16 in my article). Since only very few securely attributed works by Lombard are known, despite the fact that he was active for more than forty years, your painting certainly represents an important contribution to the rediscovery of this artist. I am therefore very grateful that you contacted me and kindly sent me the slide, which gives me an impression of the colours of the painting. May I ask whether it would be possible to see your painting in person during my next stay in Belgium (between June and September). Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain, Yours sincerely, Gwendolyne Denhaene P.S. I am sending you, under separate cover, the article to which I have referred several times." (Original in French) Furthermore exhibited, see: Exposition Un double regard sur 2000 ans d'Art wallon, Musée de l'Art Wallon de la Ville de Liège, 15 April - 16 July 2000 (all documentation relating to this exhibition enclosed). Literature: Godelieve Denhaene, Lambert Lombard. Renaissance et Humanisme à Liège, Antwerp, 1990, ill. p. 119. Goldschmidt, Adolph: Lambert Lombard. Berlin: Grote 1919, pp. 206-240. From: Jahrbuch der preussischen Kunstsammlungen, vol. 40, 1909. Bulletin De L'Institut Historique Belge de Rome LVII, 1987, of the Belgian Historical Institute in Rome.