The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Standing Apostle (Probably Saint John the Evangelist)

Standing Apostle (Probably Saint John the Evangelist)

c. 1430
(Southern Netherlandish, active Bruges?)
Southern Netherlands or Northern France
Alabaster
Overall: 23.7 x 10.2 x 5.9 cm (9 5/16 x 4 x 2 5/16 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2022.41.1
Location: 109 Gothic Painting and Sculpture

Did You Know?

Alabaster is very soft; after 20 minutes of treatment with water the surface will dissolve.

Description

This figure, likely from a cycle of the 12 apostles, probably has its original coloring. The transparent cream-colored alabaster includes typical veining that supports the play of light and shadow in the rich folds. The gilded hems intensify the richness of the drapery. The less detailed treatment of the backs of the sculpture is also typical since they may not have been visible when displayed. The figure was prepared in a workshop to be adapted to the conditions at their destination. It was probably created by an artist based in Bruges (Belgium), who was in close contact with the workshop of the so-called Rimini Altarpiece there.
  • Saint-Omer Cathedral, France
    -2022
    (Sam Fogg, London, England, Sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2022-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Van Drival, Eugène. Catalogue de l'exposition d'objets d'art religieux: ouverte à Lille en 1874. Bishops Stortford, Herts: Chadwyck-Healey, 1874. nos. 554 and 555
    Kunsthalle Köln, Schnütgen-Museum, Belgium, and Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire (Belgium). Rhein Und Maas: Kunst Und Kultur, 800-1400. 1972.
    Steyaert, John William, and Monique Tahon-Vanroose. Late Gothic Sculpture: The Burgundian Netherlands. Ghent: Ludion Press, 1994. p. 327
  • Riemenschneider and Late Medieval Alabaster. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-July 23, 2023).
    The Medieval Body, Sam Fogg, Luhring Augustine, New York, NY (January 21-March 12, 2022).
    Exposition D’objets D'art Religieux, Lille, l'Hôtel de l'ancienne Préfecture du Nord (14 June – 13 July 1874).
  • {{cite web|title=Standing Apostle (Probably Saint John the Evangelist)|url=false|author=Master of the Saint-Omer Apostles|year=c. 1430|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.41.1