Circle of Antoine Le Moiturier. Burgundian School 15th century.

This fully carved sculpture in the round, executed in a light-colored, fine-grained limestone, depicts a standing male figure. Identified by his attributes and costume as an apostle—probably Saint Matthew—the figure adopts a frontal pose subtly offset by a slight contrapposto: the body’s weight rests on the left leg while the right leg, free, bends slightly forward, imparting a gentle movement beneath the heavy drapery. The saint wears a long tunic, buttoned high at the collar and belted at the waist, and a large cloak, one panel of which returns to drape the front of the body like an apron before being held under the left arm. This sculpture can be attributed to the circle close to Antoine Le Moiturier, in Autun, circa 1470–1480.

The artist favored heavy fabrics, whose materiality is conveyed through deep, smooth folds, sometimes broken into sharp “beak-like” creases—characteristic of Burgundy at the end of the 15th century. These weighty draperies are found in works attributed to Antoine Le Moiturier or his close circle, such as the Entombment at Semur-en-Auxois, where one also notes parallels in facial morphology and the inwardness of expression; and Saint Stephen in the Louvre (Inv. RF 1371), which likewise displays this “turning” dynamism of drapery. Close analysis of the face reveals great finesse of execution. The use of a drill to hollow the centers of the curls in the beard and hair creates a play of light and shadow that animates the stone surface—a technique frequently employed in high-quality Burgundian workshops. The treatment of the hair recalls the Saint John the Baptist of Bussy-la-Pesle, but even more so the hair of the flying angel in the Louvre and of the lectern angel in the Musée Rolin. The curls and their sequencing are very close. The comparison with the circle of Antoine Le Moiturier gains particular strength through a parallel with the mane of a lion on the tomb effigies of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria: the carving of the mane’s curls and their arrangement are strikingly similar to the curls of our apostle’s hair, notably with a characteristic “spoon-shaped” hollowing.
Complete file available on request.

References consulted:
· Baron, Françoise, Musée du Louvre – Sculpture française – I – Moyen Age, Paris, 1996.
· Jacques Baudoin, La sculpture flamboyante en Bourgogne et Franche-Comté, Créer, 1996.
· Jacqueline Boccador, Statuaire médiévale en France de 1400 à 1530, Zug, Les Clefs du temps, 1974, vol. 1.

In-depth study of the artwork

Saint Matthew — Circle of Antoine Le Moiturier Ref. 280

Subject:	Figure of an Apostle holding the Book, probably Saint Matthew
Material:	carved limestone with traces of polychromy
Dimensions:	height 90cm
Origin:	France, Burgundy, Autun school
Date:	c. 1470-1480
Attribution:	close circle of Antoine Le Moiturier
Provenance:	Sotheby’s New York, 22 June 1989, lot 17
Condition:	losses to the left hand
Reference:	280

Description

This sculpture in the round, carved from a fine-grained, light-coloured limestone, represents a standing male figure identified by his attributes and costume as an Apostle. The figure is essentially frontal, subtly relieved by a slight sway of the body: the weight rests on the left leg while the free right leg bends slightly forward, creating a discreet sense of movement beneath the heavy fabric. The saint wears a long tunic, buttoned high at the neck and belted at the waist, together with a broad mantle, one end of which is brought across the front of the body like an apron before being held beneath the left arm.

With his left hand, partly veiled by a fold of fabric, he supports a closed book, the Gospel, whose binding is rendered with a concern for realism. The aged physiognomy, bare feet and bifurcated beard suggest Saint Matthew. The right hand does not appear to have held an attribute, or, if it did, it must have been a very slender one — a quill — further supporting the identification as Saint Matthew.

The face, framed by abundant hair falling in tubular locks onto the shoulders and by a bifurcated beard of tight curls, has serene features: almond-shaped eyes with heavy lids, a straight nose and high cheekbones. The work preserves significant evidence of its original polychromy, notably blue pigments in the recesses of the mantle and traces of ochre or red on the tunic.

Stylistic analysis

The monumentality of the figure is created through the treatment of the drapery, which is the principal vehicle of sculptural expression here. The artist favoured heavy fabrics whose material substance is conveyed through deep, ample folds, sometimes breaking into pointed, beak-like forms characteristic of Burgundy at the end of the fifteenth century. Particularly notable are the graphic V-shaped folds across the torso and the vertical, almost architectural fall of the fabric along the saint’s right side.

These heavy fabrics are found in works attributed to Antoine Le Moiturier or to his close circle, such as the Entombment at Semur-en-Auxois, which also offers parallels in the morphology of the faces and the inward quality of the expressions, as well as the Saint Stephen in the Louvre, inv. RF 1371, where the same “turning” dynamic of the drapery can be observed.

The face reveals great refinement of execution. The use of the drill to hollow out the centres of the curls in the beard and hair creates a play of light and shadow that animates the surface of the stone, a technique frequently encountered in high-quality Burgundian workshops. The physiognomy, imbued with benevolent gravity and melancholic inwardness, conveys a humanisation of the sacred. The treatment of the hair recalls the Saint John the Baptist at Bussy-la-Pesle, but even more closely the hair of the Flying Angel in the Louvre and the Angel at the Lectern in the Musée Rolin. The curls and the way they are linked are extremely close.

The connection with the circle of Antoine Le Moiturier becomes particularly compelling when compared with the mane of one of the lions from the tomb effigies of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria: the hollowing and arrangement of the curls in the mane are strikingly similar to those in the hair of our Apostle, including the characteristic spoon-shaped hollowing.

Geographical and chronological attribution

The attribution to the Autun school, or more broadly to Burgundy, is supported by the convergence of material and style. The type of limestone recalls that used in productions from Autun.

The work belongs fully to the aesthetic transition taking place in Burgundian sculpture between the end of the International Gothic style and the emergence of a more measured realism at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Costume details such as the small spherical buttons of the tunic firmly place the representation in the second half of the fifteenth century; a similar garment is seen on the Saint Christopher in the Musée Rolin at Autun (H. 1.20 m, 1470/1480, inv. M. L. 1303). Here, the structure remains powerful, the underlying construction solid, and the drapery retains a Gothic complexity that suggests a comparable date, probably the last quarter of the fifteenth century, circa 1470-1480.

This sculpture may therefore be attributed to the close circle of Antoine Le Moiturier, in Autun, around 1470-1480.

Related works

For the treatment of the drapery:

• Semur-en-Auxois, Entombment, Antoine Le Moiturier, collegiate church of Notre-Dame, circa 1490.
• Louvre, Saint Stephen, inv. RF 1371, formerly attributed to Antoine Le Moiturier.
• Louvre, Thomas de Plaine, inv. RF 1679, formerly attributed to Antoine Le Moiturier, 1470/1480.

For the face and the treatment of the hair:

• Louvre, attributed to Antoine Le Moiturier, inv. RF 1499, Semur-en-Auxois, circa 1485.
• Semur-en-Auxois, Entombment, Antoine Le Moiturier, collegiate church of Notre-Dame, circa 1490.
• Louvre, Flying Angel, inv. RF 1625, Semur-en-Auxois, attributed to Antoine Le Moiturier.
• Musée Rolin, Angel at the Lectern, ref. POP AP73K001566, Antoine Le Moiturier.
• Lion from the tomb effigies of John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria, ref. POP AP80L050390, Jean de La Huerta or Antoine Le Moiturier.

Bibliographical references

• Miroir du Prince 1425-1510. La commande artistique des hauts fonctionnaires à la cour de Bourgogne, Maurice-Chabard, Brigitte; Jugie, Sophie; Paviot, Jacques (eds.), exhibition catalogue (Saône-et-Loire, Autun, Musée Rolin, 2021), Autun / Ghent, Musée Rolin / Snoeck, 2021.
• Miroir du Prince, catalogue sommaire, exhibition catalogue (Saône-et-Loire, Autun, Musée Rolin, 2021), 2021, no. 131.
• Baron, Françoise, Musée du Louvre - Sculpture française - I - Moyen Age, Paris, 1996, p. 177.
• Aubert, Marcel; Beaulieu, Michèle, Musée national du Louvre. Description raisonnée des Sculptures du Moyen Âge, de la Renaissance et des Temps modernes, vol. 1, Moyen Âge, Paris, 1950, no. 344.
• Jacques Baudoin, La sculpture flamboyante en Bourgogne et Franche-Comté, Créer, 1996.
• Jacqueline Boccador, Statuaire médiévale en France de 1400 à 1530, Zug, Les Clefs du temps, 1974, vol. 1.
• Sotheby’s New York, Catalogue of European Works of Art, Sale 5881, 22 June 1989.