The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
The Immaculate Conception
c. 1770
(German, 1725–1775)
Overall: 78.6 x 34.5 x 19.2 cm (30 15/16 x 13 9/16 x 7 9/16 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1963.294
Location: 214 Central and Northern European
Description
The Christian doctrine of the Immaculate Conception maintains that the Virgin Mary was conceived free from sin, ready to be the pure vessel for Christ’s birth. Depicting such an abstract idea required specific imagery. The moon beneath the Virgin’s feet, for example, comes from the New Testament vision of Saint John the Evangelist (Revelation 12:1) of “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,” while the serpent upon which she treads symbolizes Christ’s triumph over original sin. With his characteristically delicate modeling, elongated proportions, and soft coloring, Ignaz Günther created an archetypal image of innocence on the cusp of womanhood.- Private collection, Munich (sold, Weinmüller, Munich, December 5-6, 1962, lot no. 1149, to Kurt Rossacher)Kurt Rossacher (Salzburg, Austria), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1963.
- Lee, Sherman E. "Year in Review for 1963." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 50, no. 10 (1963): 263-94. Referenced: cat. no. 2, Reproduced: p. 247 www.jstor.orgHawley, Henry. "Eighteenth-century Sculpture from Germany and Austria." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art, LI, no. 1 (January, 1964): 1-13. Reproduced: cover and p. 9, fig. 7, detailThe Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 150 archive.orgCleveland Museum of Art. Selected Works: Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH:1967. Reproduced: no. 178The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 150 archive.orgWoeckel, Gerhard P. Franz Ignaz Günther: d. grosse Bildhauer d. bayer. Rokoko. Regensburg, DK: Pustet, 1977. Reproduced: p. 124; Mentioned: p. 63The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 166 archive.orgDitner, David Charles. Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century European Sculpture in the Cleveland Museum of Art. 1986. Reproduced: p. 345
- Year in Review (1963). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 27, 1963-January 5, 1964).
- {{cite web|title=The Immaculate Conception|url=false|author=Ignaz Günther|year=c. 1770|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.294