Susannah and the Elders
Manuscript Cutting
ca. 1900 (illuminated), 14th century-15th century (written)
ca. 1900 (illuminated), 14th century-15th century (written)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The Spanish Forger was a skilful and prolific forger, who capitalised on the fashion for collecting medieval panel paintings and illuminated manuscripts, which was widespread in Europe and the United States between the mid-nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. His distinctive repertory of sweet faced figures set against a background of steep hills and castles derived from the study of illustrated books on the Middle Ages. His work was exposed as that of a forger in the 1930s, on the basis of a panel formerly attributed to the fifteenth century Spanish painter Jorge Inglés. This association provided the name of convenience by which he is still known, although it is generally believed that he was active in Paris in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
This is one of a group of five or six miniatures of similar size and borders, painted on the back of cuttings from a text page of an Italian choir book of fifteenth or sixteenth century date. It depicts Susannah and the Elders; a biblical subject taken from the Apocrypha (Susannah 15-24). Susannah is shown interrupted while bathing at the left. Her virtuous and modest nature is conveyed by her downcast eyes and the gesture with which she covers her body with a cloth as the two elders approach from the right. They threatened to accuse Susannah of adultery unless she slept with them. The costume of the two elders and the castellated landscape are reminiscent of Franco-Flemish manuscripts of around 1400, but the 'Venus Pudica' pose of Susannah suggests a more classicising source, such as Botticelli's Birth of Venus, painted in Florence during the 1470s. This anachronistic tendency to combine motifs derived from different schools and periods is a principal reason why the works of the Spanish Forger are readily identifiable as fakes.
This is one of a group of five or six miniatures of similar size and borders, painted on the back of cuttings from a text page of an Italian choir book of fifteenth or sixteenth century date. It depicts Susannah and the Elders; a biblical subject taken from the Apocrypha (Susannah 15-24). Susannah is shown interrupted while bathing at the left. Her virtuous and modest nature is conveyed by her downcast eyes and the gesture with which she covers her body with a cloth as the two elders approach from the right. They threatened to accuse Susannah of adultery unless she slept with them. The costume of the two elders and the castellated landscape are reminiscent of Franco-Flemish manuscripts of around 1400, but the 'Venus Pudica' pose of Susannah suggests a more classicising source, such as Botticelli's Birth of Venus, painted in Florence during the 1470s. This anachronistic tendency to combine motifs derived from different schools and periods is a principal reason why the works of the Spanish Forger are readily identifiable as fakes.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Susannah and the Elders (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | |
Brief description | Miniature of Susannah and the Elders, painted on a manuscript cutting from a medieval Italian antiphonary, attributed to the 'Spanish Forger', Paris (?), ca. 1900. |
Physical description | Miniature painted ca.1900 in France on a piece of parchment cut from a 14th- or 15th- century Italian antiphonary (a type of choir book). |
Dimensions |
|
Production type | Unique |
Credit line | Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2008 |
Object history | Part of a group of five miniatures sharing the same provenance (E.527-2008 to E.531-2008) and acquired at the same time. All miniatures were painted on cuttings from the same 14th or 15th-century Italian antiphonary. Collection of Mr. Brown (d. ca.1925), Switzerland; inherited by his wife; bequeathed to Maria Teweles, Twentynine Palms, California; Mr Kerrison Preston, Surrey, England; collection of Jean F. Preston, Princeton (in 1978). Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2008. Other miniatures from the same series in other collections: formerly Hartman Galleries, Ltd, Beverly Hills (Rebecca at the well; see The Spanish Forger, 1978, no. L10, fig. 189). |
Summary | The Spanish Forger was a skilful and prolific forger, who capitalised on the fashion for collecting medieval panel paintings and illuminated manuscripts, which was widespread in Europe and the United States between the mid-nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. His distinctive repertory of sweet faced figures set against a background of steep hills and castles derived from the study of illustrated books on the Middle Ages. His work was exposed as that of a forger in the 1930s, on the basis of a panel formerly attributed to the fifteenth century Spanish painter Jorge Inglés. This association provided the name of convenience by which he is still known, although it is generally believed that he was active in Paris in the late 19th century and early 20th century. This is one of a group of five or six miniatures of similar size and borders, painted on the back of cuttings from a text page of an Italian choir book of fifteenth or sixteenth century date. It depicts Susannah and the Elders; a biblical subject taken from the Apocrypha (Susannah 15-24). Susannah is shown interrupted while bathing at the left. Her virtuous and modest nature is conveyed by her downcast eyes and the gesture with which she covers her body with a cloth as the two elders approach from the right. They threatened to accuse Susannah of adultery unless she slept with them. The costume of the two elders and the castellated landscape are reminiscent of Franco-Flemish manuscripts of around 1400, but the 'Venus Pudica' pose of Susannah suggests a more classicising source, such as Botticelli's Birth of Venus, painted in Florence during the 1470s. This anachronistic tendency to combine motifs derived from different schools and periods is a principal reason why the works of the Spanish Forger are readily identifiable as fakes. |
Associated objects | |
Bibliographic references |
|
Collection | |
Accession number | E.529-2008 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
Record created | June 27, 2008 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest