(Munich 1564–1625 Augsburg)
The Baptism of Christ,
oil on copper, 26.8 x 20.7 cm, framed

Provenance:
sale, Artcurial, Paris, 1 February 2012, lot 149 (as Circle of Rottenhammer)

We are grateful to Harry Schlichtenmeier for confirming the attribution of this painting to Hans Rottenhammer and his studio.

Schlichtenmeier writes (4 March 2016): ‘The present copper panel representing The Baptism of Christ can incontestably be associated with Hans Rottenhammer. Except for certain reservations that have to be made for the participation of the studio, it is a felicitous work. […] A stylistic comparison […] with the copper panel is convincing: both the colours (also in terms of the composition of the paint layers) and the treatment of details, such as of the drapery, the complexion, and the facial types, are persuasive when related to secure (i.e., signed) originals by Rottenhammer […]’. Schlichtenmeier attributes certain weaknesses to an anonymous hand from Rottenhammer’s workshop. He dates the present painting to the years between 1601 and 1604, when Rottenhammer sojourned in Venice. There he came into contact with the German copper engraver Lukas Kilian, who reproduced The Baptism of Christ in the form of a print.