The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Virgin and Child

Virgin and Child

late 1200s
(Valley of the Meuse), Liège(?)
Overall: 83 x 24 x 20 cm (32 11/16 x 9 7/16 x 7 7/8 in.)

Did You Know?

Dragons, like the one Mary is standing on, sometimes look more like snakes in medieval art.

Description

This sculpture is a rare survival in wood from the valley of the Meuse River (modern Belgium and Holland), an important region for the production of ecclesiastical art in the 1100s and 1200s. The elegantly draped figure is remarkable for the preservation of much of its original paint and gilding, including the Virgin's gilded mantle highlighted with decorative bands of geometric patterns and the green dragon on which she stands. There are small settings around the Virgin's neck and along the border of the mantle that would have originally been set with gem and glass cabochons in imitation of the richly adorned metalwork for which Mosan art was highly esteemed. The settings for these cabochons provide some hint of the original opulence of this sculpture. The Virgin's serene features and beautiful countenance are noteworthy, as is the refined execution of the draperies.
  • 1960s
    Reportedly on the French art market
    1960s-2013
    Gustav Rau collection, Stuttgart, Germany, a noted philanthropist and collector of Impressionist paintings and sculpture.
    July 2, 2013
    Sold at Rau's sale to benefit Unicef at Sotheby's, London (July 2, 2013), lot 8
    2013-2014
    [Daniel Katz, London], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2014-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Oh
  • Bonnet Saint-Georges, Bénédicte "Une Vierge mosane pour le musée de Cleveland" La Tribune de l'Art (December 21, 2014). www.latribunedelart.com
    Litt, Steven "Rare Sculpture is Among New Pieces" The Cleveland Plain Dealer (December 21, 2014). p. D4
    George, Philippe. Art et Patrimoine en Wallonie des Origines à 1789: Essai de Synthèse à la Lumière des Collections Américaines et Européennes. Namur: Institut du Patrimoine Wallon, 2017. N6969 .W3 G46 2017 Reproduced; p. 194, fog. 285 a-c
    Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 34-37; Reproduced: p. 35
    Verbrugge, Anne. "Restoration and Gothic Revival." In Arenberg. Mark Derez, Soetkin Vanhauwaert and Anne Verbrugge, editors. Turnhout : Brepols, 2018. Mentioned: p.354
    Beer, Manuela. Magic Rock Crystal. 2022. fig. 282, p. 301
    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. 171-175, Fig. 9.1a, 9.1b and 9.2.
  • {{cite web|title=Virgin and Child|url=false|author=|year=late 1200s|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2014.392