The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 19, 2025
A Censer
c. 1480–90
(German, c. 1450–1491)
Sheet: 26.4 x 21 cm (10 3/8 x 8 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1951.429
Catalogue raisonné: Lehrs V.359.106
Location: 101B Prints & Drawings
Did You Know?
The vine-like ornament that covers the openwork areas of this censer suggests a Christological metaphor of the grapes made into the Eucharist wine.Description
Censers are liturgical containers swung back and forth on long chains to disperse incense during the celebration of the mass. In this print, Martin Schongauer exploited his early training as a goldsmith to create a detailed reproduction of a life-size censer. The exquisite filigree design of the openwork areas, and the minute figurines of angels holding chains that crumple on the ground and cast slight shadows suggest that Schongauer's Censer could have been a close replica of an existing censer, or a model for a goldsmith.- ?–1951(William H. Schab Gallery, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)November 15, 1951–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Richards, Louise. "Engravings by Martin Schongauer." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 42, no. 3 (March 1955): 43-45. Mentioned: p. 43 www.jstor.org
- In Vino Veritas (In Wine, Truth). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 7, 2025-January 11, 2026).Design and Decoration: Ornament Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 7-October 28, 1990).Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987).
- {{cite web|title=A Censer|url=false|author=Martin Schongauer|year=c. 1480–90|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1951.429