The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Saint Stephen

Saint Stephen

1502–8
(German, active Würzburg, c. 1460–1531)
Germany, Würzburg, 16th century
lindenwood with polychromy and gilding
Overall: 93.5 x 35 x 23.5 cm (36 13/16 x 13 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1959.43
Location: 111 German and Austrian Gothic

Did You Know?

Tilman Riemenschneider (c. 1460–1531) is probably the most famous German sculptor of the period around 1500.

Description

This sculpture, along with that of Saint Lawrence (1959.42) and two others in Germany, are believed to be the remaining fragments of a large altarpiece carved by Riemenschneider for the Dominican convent in Rothenburg in Franconia (demolished in 1813). Saints Stephen and Lawrence both wear the dalmatic to indicate their status as deacons in the early church. Each holds a symbol of his martyrdom; here, Saint Stephen cradles some stones to indicate his death by stoning. Art in Germany through the early 1500s remained firmly anchored in the late Gothic style with its associated interests in realism. Riemenschneider was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of this style, a recognized master in both stone and wood. His flourishing workshop employed as many as 40 apprentices in sculpting, woodcarving, and painting. His sculptures are noted for the dreamy, melancholy, and introspective quality in their expressions, as well as their remarkable attention to detail.
  • Richard von Passavant-Gontard, Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany
    C. von Pannwitz, Bennebroek, The Netherlands
    ?-1959
    (Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1959-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Feulner, Adolf, and Theodor Müller. Geschichte der deutschen Plastik. München: F. Bruckmann, 1887. p. 165
    Riemenschneider, Tilman, and Carl Streit. Tylmann Riemenschneider: 1460-1531 ; Leben und Kunstwerke des fränkischen Bildschnitzers. 1 (1888) 1 (1888). Berlin: Wasmuth, 1888. pl. 23
    Tönies,Eduard "Leben und Werke des Würzburger Bildscnitzers Tilmann Riemenschneider" Studien zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte XXII (1900). p. 261, nos. 2,3
    Weber, Anton, and A. Schnizlein. Til Riemenschneider: sein Leben und Wirken. Regensburg: J. Habbel, 1911. pp. 192, 247
    Schmitt, Otto, and Georg Swarzenski. Meisterwerke der bildhauerkunst in Frankfurter privatbesitz. Frankfurt am Main: Frankfurter kunstverein, 1921. p. 28, nos. 138-9, pl. 138-9
    Bier, Justus, and Tilman Riemenschneider. Tilmann Riemenschneider. Augsburg: Filser, 1925. p. 10
    Städelsches Kunstinstitut (Frankfurt am Main, Germany). Sammlung R. von Passavant-Gontard. Frankfurt am Main: Städtelsches Kunstinstitut, 1929.
    Schilling, R. "Ausstellung der Sammlung R. v. Passavant-Gontard im Städelschen Kunstinstitut," Pantheon III (April, 1929). pp. 185, 187
    Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. 28, 28. Allgemeines Lexikon Der Bildenden Kunstler Von Der Antike Bis Zur Gegenwart / Unter Mitwirkung Von 320 Fachgelehrten Des In- Und Auslandes ; Herausgegeben Von Ulrich Thieme Und Felix Becker. Leipzig: E.A. Seeman, 1934. pp. 333-4
    Riemenschneider, Tilmann, and William D. Wixom. "Two Lindenwood Sculptures." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 46, no. 9 (1959). pp. 188-197 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, “Saint Lawrence and Saint Stephen,” September 14, 1959, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Bier, Justus, Art Quarterly XXIII, 3 (Autumn 1960). pp. 215-227, figs 1, 6, 10, 12
    Suppl. à la Gazette des Beaux-Arts no. 1092 (January 1960). p. 34, no. 113
    Wixom, William D. Two Lindenwood Sculptures by Tillmann Riemenschneider. Thesis--New York University, February 1963, 1963.
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 76 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 76 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 87 archive.org
    Bier, Justus, and Tilman Riemenschneider. Tilmann Riemenschneider, His Life and Work. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 1982.
    Riemenschneider, Tilman, Julien Chapuis, and Michael Baxandall. Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages. 1999. pp. 199-202, Cat. no. 32A
    Kalden-Rosenfeld, Iris. Tilman Riemenschneider und seine Werkstatt: mit einem Katalog der allgemein als Arbeiten Riemenschneiders und seiner Werkstatt akzeptierten Werke. Königstein im Taunus: Langewiesche, 2001. p. 127, no. 173, kat. 14
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. p. 24
    Eikelmann, Renate, Holger A. Klein, Stephen N. Fliegel, and Virginia Brilliant. The Cleveland Museum of Art: Meisterwerke von 300 bis 1550. München: Hirmer, 2007. p. 19, fig. 12
    Krohm, Hartmut, and Tobias Kunz. Nicht die Bibliothek, sondern das Auge: westeuropäische Skulptur und Malerei an der Wende zur Neuzeit : Beiträge zu Ehren von Hartmut Krohm. Petersberg: M. Imhof, 2008. p. 263, abb. 1
    Cleveland Museum of Art, David Franklin, and C. Griffith Mann. Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012. pp. 158-9
    Fliegel, Stephen N., and Stephen N. Fliegel. A Higher Contemplation: Sacred Meaning in the Christian Art of the Middle Ages. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2012. p. 48, fig. 39
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 281
    Gertsman, Elina, and Stephen N. Fliegel. Collectors, Commissioners, Curators: Studies in Medieval Art for Stephen N. Fliegel. Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter ; [Kalamazoo, Michigan] : Medieval Institute Publications, 2023. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 9-10, Fig. 1.1.
  • Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages. National Gallery of Art, Landover, MD (organizer) (October 3, 1999-January 9, 2000); The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (February 7-May 14, 2000).
    Traditions and Revisions: Themes from the History of Sculpture. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-November 16, 1975).
  • {{cite web|title=Saint Stephen|url=false|author=Tilman Riemenschneider|year=1502–8|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1959.43