The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 2, 2023

Portrait of Georg Knauer

1537

Peter Dell

(German, 1490–1552)

South Germany, 16th century

Pearwood

Overall: 14 x 8.9 cm (5 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1927.427

Location

114 Late Northern Renaissance

Description

George Knauer sits behind a classical archway holding a personal letter. His age appears in the background while the date and the artist's initials "PD" are in the corners. With this relief, Dell was competing with painted portraiture. The emergence of small portrait reliefs coincided with the growing popularity of portrait medals. Produced in limited numbers, roughly two hundred wood reliefs survive today.

Provenance
Spitzer
Dr. Jacob Hirsch (Geneva, Switzerland), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1927.
Citations
"German Portrait Plaques of the Sixteenth Century." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 15, no. 7 (July 1928): 154-157 Reproduced: p. 146; Mentioned: p. 157 www.jstor.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 247 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 111 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. 111 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. 130 archive.org
Exhibition history

The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).

Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1927.427