Notes The only fully signed and dated painting by Brosamer is a portrait of Chancellor Johannes von Othera of Fulda (1536; private collection, Switzerland). The MMA painting is recorded as having the monogram "HB," the date 1524, and "KATHARINA MERIAN AET. 38." inscribed on the verso (see Ref. Lehner 1871), but this inscription is no longer visible. It has been grouped stylistically with a number of portraits bearing the artist's monogram and also provisionally attributed to Brosamer.
Provenance Fürsten von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, Meersburg and Sigmaringen; Fürst Karl Anton von Hohenzollern, Sigmaringen (by 1871–d. 1885; cat., 1871, no. 54, inv. 2182, as by HB; cat., 1883, no. 54, as by HB); Fürst Leopold von Hohenzollern, Sigmaringen (1885–d. 1905); Fürst Wilhelm von Hohenzollern, Sigmaringen (1905–d. 1927); Fürst Friedrich von Hohenzollern, Sigmaringen (1927–28 or soon after; cat., 1928, no. 13); Han Coray, Erlenbach, Switzerland (until 1930; his sale, Wertheim, Berlin, October 1, 1930, no. 42, as by Brosamer, to Bottenwieser); [Paul Bottenwieser, Berlin, 1930–at least 1931]; [P. Jackson Higgs, New York, until 1932; sale, American Art Association/Anderson Galleries, New York, December 7–9, 1932, no. 26, for $725 to Fox]; William Fox, New York (from 1932); Mrs. William Fox, New York (until 1942; sale, Kende Galleries, New York, December 1–2, 1942, no. 35, for $750); Mr. and Mrs. Jack Linsky, New York (until his d. 1980); The Jack and Belle Linsky Foundation, New York, (1980–82)
Exhibition History Frankfurt. Städelschen Kunstinstitut. "Sigmaringer Sammlungen," 1928, no. 13 (as "Weibliches Bildnis" by Hans Brosamer).
References F. A. Lehner. Fürstlich Hohenzollern'sches Museum zu Sigmaringen: Verzeichniss der Gemälde . Sigmaringen, 1871, p. 16, no. 54, inv. no. 2182, ascribes this portrait from Meersburg to a South German painter, noting that the reverse is monogrammed, dated 1524, and inscribed KATHARINA MERIAN AET. 38.Fürstlich Hohenzollern'sches Museum zu Sigmaringen: Verzeichniss der Gemälde . 2nd ed. Sigmaringen, 1883, p. 18, no. 54, suggests that the inscription, which he believes to be by a later hand, may originally have been on the front of the panel, noting that this is the case with no. 53, which also bears the HB monogram.in Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler . 5, Leipzig, 1911, p. 66, attributes it to Hans Brosamer and calls it a portrait of Kath. Merian from 1524; notes that the inscription, which is not by the artist, was probably cut off the front of the panel and applied to its back.Städel-Jahrbuch 3–4 (1924), p. 64, fig. 59, questions Pauli's [Ref. 1911] attribution to Brosamer, noting that this portrait's plainness keeps it from attaining the power of this "modest artist".Der Cicerone 20 (July 1928), pp. 455–56, mentions it as "Bildnis einer Frau" by Brosamer.A Catalogue of German Paintings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in American Collections . Cambridge, Mass., 1936, p. 90, no. 410, as "Portrait of Catherine Merian" by Brosamer.Zeitschrift des Deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft 8 (1941), pp. 233–35, fig. 28, attributes this portrait to Brosamer and associates it with portraits of Wolf Fürleger, 1527 (formerly German art market), S. Haller, 1528 (North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh), and Christoph Haller, 1529 (formerly collection Pannwitz, The Netherlands), all of which are inscribed with the monogram "HB," the date, and the sitters' names and ages across their tops; states that these surnames, including Merian, belong to recorded families in Nuremberg and comments on the South German characteristics and the influence of Cranach in these portraits.Zeitschrift für Kunstwissenschaft 14 (1960), pp. 74, 77–78, relates it to a "Portrait of a Woman in White Dress and Velvet Hat" of 1527 (Private collection, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland), also attributed to Brosamer.in "Nürnberger Bildnisse nach 1520." Kunstgeschichtliche Studien für Kurt Bauch zum 70. Geburtstag von seinen Schülern . Munich, 1967, pp. 120–21, fig. 5, notes that this painting influenced Hans Plattner's 1525 portrait of Barbara Straub (Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg).Wallraf-Richartz-Jahrbuch 39 (1977), p. 87, fig. 6, includes this painting in a discussion of the Nuremberg tradition of portraiture, influenced by Cranach and characterized by cool, frontal portraits with bold, ornamental outlines; notes that in the case of both Cranach and his followers this style would often detract from the liveliness and individuality of the portrayal.in The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art . New York, 1984, pp. 107–8, no. 39, ill. (color), calls this painting attributed to Brosamer; notes that the inscription recorded by Lehner [Refs. 1871, 1883] is no longer visible, and that it could not have been cut from the front of the canvas because the top edge of the panel is original.Textiler Hausrat: Kleidung und Haustextilien in Nürnberg von 1500–1650 . Munich, 1990, p. 131, fig. 121.
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