(Antwerp 1546–1611 Prag) Saint Ursula surrounded by virgins, above them the Holy Trinity and Pope Cyriacus or Bishop Sulpicius (?), pen and black ink, grey wash on laid paper, 30,5 x 19,2 cm, mounted, unframed, (Sch)

Provenance: Collector’s mark “Collection v. Franz Masur” (not with Lugt) on the reverse;
private collection, Austria.

The present drawing is presumably a design for an altar painting which was commissioned by the order of Saint Ursula and executed on the occasion of the Catholic reformation. The saint is rendered as a triumphant martyr with tiara and widely spread cloak which makes her reminiscent of a so called Madonna of Mercy. According to the legend she is sheltering the Eleven Thousand Maidens who along with her were slaughtered by Huns. The Holy Trinity and the figure of pope Cyriacus or of bishop Sulpicius are hovering above them. While Spranger had treated similar subjects in his earlier paintings, the drawing may stylistically point to the mid-17th century. The proportionally slightly elongated figures and the summary treatment of the faces of Christ, Godfather and the angels of the sheet are comparable with a drawing by Tobias Pock (Konstanz 1609–1683 Vienna) depicting “Saint Dominic and the Holy Trinity” (see: Gertrude Aurenhammer, Die Handzeichnung des 17. Jahrhunderts in Austria, Vienna 1958, Cat. L 9, Fig. 47).

We are grateful to Prof. Dr. Thomas Da Costa Kaufmann for the scientific support.