Lot 52: ATTRIBUTED TO CHRISTIAN JORHAN THE ELDER (1727-1804)SOUTH GERMAN, SECOND HALF 18TH CENTURY

PROPERTY FROM THE GUSTAV RAU COLLECTION SOLD TO BENEFIT THE GERMAN COMMITTEE FOR UNICEF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST limewood 133cm., 52 3/8 in.

with Galerie A. Mehringer, Munich

This impressive figure of St. John the Baptist can be attributed to the South German 18th-century Rococo sculptor, Christian Jorhan. It compares closely with another wood figure of the Baptist by Jorhan adorning his altarpiece in the Wallfahrtskirche in Maria Thalheim, Bavaria (Schmidt, op. cit., pp. 108-9). Note, in particular, the similarly conceived fur-lined drapery, beard and tufts of hair on the Saint's head. The present figure's strong brow, prominent cheekbones and downcast eyes compare closely with one of the Evangelists from the altar by Jorhan in Altfraunhofen (Schmidt, op. cit., p. 170). In terms of the physiognomy, a close parallel is found in a sculpture of St. Sebastian in the Pfarrkirche in Wolnzach (Schmidt, op. cit., pp. 204-5). The almost skeletal thorax, slender fingers, thin legs and large feet are very similar to those seen in the present sculpture, and would indicate that both works were made by the same hand. RELATED LITERATURE O. Schmidt and W-C. von der Mülbe, Christian Jorhan d.Ä. 1727-1804, Riemerling, 1986, pp. 108-109, 170 and 204-205