Lot 49: Friedrich Brentel , Lauingen 1580 - 1651 Strasbourg twelve scenes from the passion All gouache heightened with gold, within gold framing lines; all signed in black ink, lower left: eleven signed F Brentel , the Kiss of Judas signed Friedrich Brentel

All gouache heightened with gold, within gold framing lines; all signed in black ink, lower left: eleven signed F Brentel , the Kiss of Judas signed Friedrich Brentel ; nine dated, lower right: 1639 ; and three dated: 1638 Quantity: 12

measurements note each circa 63 by 52 mm, sight size, all mounted within a carved wooden frame

Friedrich Brentel trained as an engraver, but became one of the most important painters, draughtsmen and printmakers working in 17th-Century Strasbourg. With the help of a successful workshop and his most famous pupil, Johann Wilhelm Baur, Brentel established the city as the leading centre for the painting of miniatures. While he did produce many gouaches with his own compositions, Brentel also made numerous miniature replicas of paintings or prints by contemporary artists such as Bruegel, Rubens and Van Dyck. The present series derives from Jacques Callot's twelve etchings, The Small Passion, dated circa 1623.υ1 Brentel's gouaches are almost identical in size to the prints, but in some cases he enhanced the compositions, such as the first scene, The Washing of the Feet, in which he added an arch to the foreground to frame the composition. The small scale of the gouaches indicates that they were intended for private devotional use, perhaps for a small family chapel or oratory. The scenes were drawn not long after Callot's death in 1635; it is interesting to note that whilst most are dated 1639, three are from the previous year. A comparable series by Brentel was sold in Amsterdam, Christie's, 10 November 1999, lot 477; there, the gouaches were dated 1636 and 1638, which could imply that the scenes from both sets were once in fact part of different series. 1. See J. Lieure, J. Callot, Paris 1927, vol, II, pp.50-1, cat. nos. 537-548