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Master E.L. (Franco-Flemish; ca.1500)
MADONNA AND CHILD
Unknown to Charles Sterling, Hulin de Loo or Max J. Friedlander, this recently discovered painting combines several iconographic aspects of the Madonna theme which are most often dealt with separately. In the whole, we have (1) a Madonna who is seated on a classically detailed throne addressing her audience ex cathedra as a Christian refiguring of Minerva, pagan Goddess of Wisdom (see note); (2) the Madonna of the Immaculate Conception in a "tower of chastity" overlooking a world landscape ; (3) a Madonna in this tower chamber whose Romanesque, arched windows recall (according to pictorial usage in 15th century Flanders) the Hebrew Temple in Jerusalem and the Old (Hebrew) Dispensation for which Our Lady provides the transition to the New ( and Christian) Dispensation. Finally , we have the Madonna as the caring mother of an un-idealized, very human child. This Madonna is the New Eve who will lift the curse of Original Sin brought on mankind by the first Eve, and who will proffer the hope of eternal life as well as the possibility of Her intervention in the affairs of individuals and, through her Church , the affairs of mankind. The one aspect of the Madonna missing here and one for which there are countless representations is Our Lady as a much bejewelled, crowned Queen of Heaven. This Lady has but one small jewel, a ruby on her breast.
Until a better attribution can be determined we shall have to take seriously the signature inscribed in the right lower quadrant of this painting and henceforth refer to this work and others bearing the same stylistic imprint as products of "MASTER E.L". A number of attempts at identifying "E.L." have been made by specialists in the field of Late Medieval Flemish painting. Most of these have begun by concluding that Erwin Panofsky’s off-hand remarks at a recent College Art Association meeting were probably close to the mark when he stated that this work was from a Bruxelles workshop and executed close to the year 1500. He cited the blonde coloristic harmonies, the "subdued linearism" and "humanistic" portrayal of Our Lady as supportive of this attribution. A search of Brussels archives of the mid-millenium instigated by Panofsky’s attribution unearthed several "E.L."’s who could be described as painters: Etienne Limoges, Esteven Limbourg (presumed to be a descendent of the famous Limbourg brothers), Eliel Lindenheim, and Emile Landvoort. Each has his champions.
Among those listed above, I would tend to favor a name which has a resonance I can associate with a work that is clearly more Frankish than Germanic: Etienne Limoges. However, we must hope and trust that more paintings, accompanied by documentation ,will surface in the future and support accreditation of this work to its proper Master.
Note: The thirteenth century saw the building in Rome of a new Gothic church on the site of an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the Goddess Minerva. The church (1280 A.D.) is known as Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.
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