SOUTH GERMAN SCHOOL Master, active about 1500. THE MIRACULOUS HEALING OF BERNHARD OF CLAIRVAUX BY MARIA/BERNHARD WARNS ROGER II OF SICILY OF HIS DEFEAT BY RANULF AT THE BATTLE OF RIGANO 1132 Each: Tempera on pinewood panel, partly gilded.Single panel each: 77x57 cm (F. total 165x65 cm) Part. slightly old restored, gold ground partly overpainted, wooden panels with vertical stress cracks. Both panels combined in one frame. The iconography and determination of the two panels explains Dr. Bernd Konrad (Reichenau) as follows: Panel I The miraculous healing of Bernard of Clairvaux by Mary John [(?) not nimbed], Mary and a holy abbot with a glass in his hand, above which a snake is coiled, stand at the bedside of a Cistercian monk. sich eine Schlange windet, stehen am Bett eines Zisterziensermönches. Mary speaks to him: Maria spricht zu ihm: DILECTE MI SANABERIS QVIA IN SERVITIO MEO ADHVCPERSISTES. DILECTE MI SANABERIS QVIA IN SERVITIO MEO ADHVCPERSISTES "My beloved, you will be healed because you will still persevere in my service" "Mein Geliebter, du wirst geheilt werden, weil du noch weiterhin in meinem Dienst Below left, the devil in a casual pose turned towards Bernard: NOLI TE DECIPERE VT SEMPERES TE REGNUM DEI CONSEQVI POSSE "Do not deceive yourself that you, as you always are, can attain the kingdom of God" Accordingly, this is the scene of the miraculous healing of Bernard by Mary. "Dilecte mi" is a salutation to the beloved appearing in the Song of Songs on which Bernhard commented. Es handelt sich demnach um die Szene der wunderbaren Heilung Bernhards durch Maria. It is irritating that despite the fact that Bernhard has not died, his soul is already being brought to the Judge of the World in the figure of a small naked man by an angel. Irritierend ist, dass trotz des nicht eingetretenden Todes Bernhards, dessen Seele in der The male figures accompanying Mary as helpers do not seem to be canonically determined, but probably follow regional requirements. In a painting by Juan Correo de Vivar she is depicted together with Benedict and Laurentius (Madrid, Prado, LCI vol. 5 sp. 381 and sp. 384). Today this depiction is considered to be the death of Bernard of Clairvaux. Sp. 381 und Sp. 384). The holy abbot with the glass in his hand could be St. Magnus of Füssen. Panel II Bernard warns Roger II of Sicily of his defeat by Ranulf at the Battle of Rignano in 1132 The second panel represents a narrative from the second book (II, 60) of Bernhard's most famous vita: Bernhard warns Roger II of Sicily of his defeat by Ranulf (at the Battle of Rignano 1132); he does so with the words: Die zweite Tafel stellt eine Erzählung aus dem zweiten Buch (II, 60) der bekanntesten QVIA (standing only for colon of the address:) SI CONFLICTUM INIERIS. VICTVS ET CONFVSUS ABIBIS. "If you engage in battle, you will depart defeated and destroyed" CONFVSUS ABIBIS. Both panels may have been parts of a more extensive Bernhard cycle, the former installation of which can be assumed because of the appearance of St. Magnus of Füssen in a southern German Cistercian monastery. They probably lost their location as a result of secularisation in 1803ff. and found their way into the art trade that was emerging at the time. Zisterzienserkloster zu vermuten ist. Wahrscheinlich haben sie infolge der Säkularisation We are grateful to Dr. Bernd Konrad (Reichenau) for his work in the iconographic description, the translation and classification of the texts as well as in the identification of the panels. Herzlich danken wir Herrn Dr. Bernd Konrad (Reichenau) für seine Arbeit bei der Provenance: South German Private Collection. Bestimmung der Tafeln.