Triptych: The Lineage of St. Anne

The central group of the Virgin and Child with St. Anne is similar to a plaque by Jean Pénicaud II in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; both depend on an engraving by Marco Dente. Some of its colors, such as the green-yellow curtains and copperred gowns, are unusual for enamels of this period. The markedly fine preservation of the lettering on the banderoles and the exaggerated features of some figures suggest that this is a more recent work copying the manner of a sixteenth-century artist. The high technical mastery of many nineteenth-century enamelers allowed them to execute not only original work and homages to the Renaissance but also deliberate forgeries.

Source: Wardropper, Ian and Julia Day. Limoges Enamels at The Frick Collection. New York: The Frick Collection/D Giles Limited, 2015.

Frédéric Spitzer, Paris. His sale, April 17–June 16, 1893, 33 rue de Villejust, Paris, Lot 439. Charles Stein, Paris, His sale, June 8–10, 1899, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, Lot 20. J. Pierpont Morgan, London and New York. Duveen. Frick, 1916.

Source: Enamels, Rugs and Silver in The Frick Collection. Volume VIII. New York: The Frick Collection, 1977.