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February 24 '46

Dear Dr. Friedlaender:

As I promised I would, I am sending you herein the photograph of the French Primitive, "Piété nostre Seigneur", as well as an enlargement of the heads, which I discovered a few weeks ago, having been in the old Barney Collection.

If the photographs give you a good representation of the general composition and remarkable state of preservation of the painting, on the other hand, of course, they lack color. However, you will find it indicated on the back of the photograph.

Having heard that Miss Grete Ring was writing a corpus on French Primitives, I have had a lengthy correspondence with her on the subject of this painting, and altogether we all seem to agree as to its being French, but we have different opinions about the part of France it originated from.

Miss Ring called it Evignon, but I personally believe that it is from further North, perhaps Dijon, for I find a close relationship between the expression and general style of the Christ of our "Pieta" and the small "Pieta" of the Louvre, which is of the School of Paris, and particularly as regards the very serene, restrained and refined head, and also the wounds which are so discreetly indicated with very little blood in evidence, similar in the small Louvre "Pieta". However, the angels, to my mind, in the fullness of their features have a more Northern character.

The black background, the marbleized sepulchre, and the Hebrew inscription are most unusual, but we know of two or three paintings on a black background, among which are, one from the South of France and another, I believe, from Evignon.

As regards the inscription, from a study I have just had made, it is Aramaic Hebrew, in other words, in the lettering used in the first Century A.D.. The inscription on the right is complete, and could be translated as "The Coffin of Christ". The one on the left repeats more or less the former one, though several letters are missing, which would lead one to believe that the repetition was used more as a decorative motif to balance the first inscription.

Professor Panofsky, with whom I have also communicated, adds an interesting note insofar as, -in his study of Pietas which is well known to you- his claim is that the representation of the Virgin Mary holding the dead body, is of Germain origin, whereas, the Christ being held by angels, that is mine, is of French origin.

May I express the hope that if you have some leisure you will be good enough to give this problem some attention, as it goes without saying I am most anxious to have your opinion, knowing further that as usual it will shed some light on this engrossing matter.

With best personal regards,

Sincerely yours,
(Germain Seligman)

Dr. Max Friedlaender
38 Beethovenstraat
Amsterdam, Holland

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