The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

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.
  • Spitzer
    Dr. Jacob Hirsch (Geneva, Switzerland), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1927.
  • "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
    Milliken, William. "Four Stone Models for German Medals." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 44, no. 6 (June 1957): 118-121. Mentioned: p. 118 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
  • Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984).
    The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait of Georg Knauer|url=false|author=Peter Dell|year=1537|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

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