Peasants going to the Market

Details

Bartsch VI, 157, Nr. 88; Lehrs, Bd. V, 90; Falk/Hirte 90; Hollstein 90.

Literatur:
N.G. Stogdon, Catalogue X: Martin Schongauer, New York 1996, Kat.-Nr. 31.

Ausstellung:
Colmar 1991, Unterlinden Museum, Der hübsche Martin, Nr. K. 4.

Provenienz:
Hendrikus Egbertus ten Cate (1868-1955), Almelo, verso mit dem Stempel (Lugt 533b);
M. Knoedler & Company, New York, Catalogue of the thirteenth Annual Exhibition of Engravings, woodcuts, etchings of the XV and XVI centuries. 4.-30. April 1936, S. 11, Los 23, mit Abb. S. 18.

Descrizione

A very fine, delicate impression, black and sharp in the contour lines, of the charming image of a peasant family riding to market, embedded in an Alsatian landscape. The present engraving is one of the rare secular, genre-like depictions, whose technical execution, richness of detail and depiction of the figures are reminiscent of Netherlandish painting. Lehrs classifies the work in the first, early group on the basis of the watermark and assigns it to Schongauer’s early work; the steep-legged “M” in the monogram also speaks in favour of an early engraving by the artist.
The engraving shows a peasant family of three on their way to market. The peasant, with a basket and a sack over his shoulder, leads his horse, tired and bent over. He is carrying a sword in a scabbard damaged at the bottom, a sign that the paths over land were not safe. The peasant woman and her child ride on the horse. She is barefoot, holding poultry in one hand and a long branch forked like a crown in the other; a sheathed knife hangs from her belt. Behind her sits the child with an elaborate headdress. A village with a church and well is visible in the background on the right. The hilly landscape appears gentle and fertile. According to Thomas Hirte, Schongauer drew on an altarpiece by Dierick Bouts when creating the landscape. The composition of the figures is reminiscent of the traditional depiction of the “Flight into Egypt”. However, the present depiction lacks any sacred reference. The engraving is one of the first that Schongauer created after his return from travelling to Beaune in Burgundy and the north of the Netherlands. Lehrs knows of around 40 examples in public collections. – The upper edge carefully applied. The lower edge with a professional and inconspicuous repair, otherwise in very good condition. Extremely rare!