Brothel Scene, The Brunswick Monogrammist
The Brunswick Monogrammist
Brothel Scene
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The Brunswick Monogrammist

Brothel Scene, ca. 1540 – 1550


Dimensions
32.7 x 45.5 x min. 0.3 cm
maximum depth
0.6 cm
Physical Description
Mixed technique on oak
Inventory Number
249
Acquisition
Acquired in 1816 with the founder’s bequest
Status
On display, 2nd upper level, Old Masters, room 7

Texts

About the Acquisition

Art collecting was popular among the well-to-do burghers of Frankfurt during the eighteenth century, but only in the case of the banker and spice merchant Johann Friedrich Städel (1728-1816) did the private art collection end up as an art institute that was open to the public. Städel decreed in his will in 1815 that his collection should be "open for use and inspection by prospective artists and art lovers on specific days and at specific times freely and without charge, under appropriate supervision".

The bordello picture is a typical work of the artist, who was active in Antwerp during the second quarter of the sixteenth century and who is known by a name of convenience as the "Brunswick Monogrammist". His oeuvre consists of small-format biblical scenes containing numerous figures and of works showing "loose society" with a sociocritical element or critical of the Church. In Städel's collection the picture was attributed to Hans Holbein the Younger. The collector was no doubt persuaded to purchase the panel picture for its evident genre-like character.

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Last update

02.12.2024