Standing Virgin and Child
Attributed to Nikolaus Gerhaert van Leiden
North Netherlandish, active in Strasbourg, 1460–1473
Date: ca. 1470
Medium: Boxwood, tinted lips and eyes
Dimensions: 13 1/4 x 5 1/8 x 3 9/16 in
Gerhaert was the finest and most influential sculptor active in the third quarter of the fifteenth century, a pivotal period in the development of late Gothic sculpture in northern Europe. Gerhaert was either born or trained in Leiden and was later active in Strasbourg and Vienna. There are only four works in wood that, though undocumented, have been seriously considered as coming from his hand. Of these, this sculpture is especially notable for its sense of drama, monumentality, and elegance. The authority of the formal conception and the eloquence of the execution evidence the gift of a great artist. The rhythm and balance of the drapery folds are counterpoised by the linear details and textural contrasts. Among the naturalistic elements is the delicate manner in which the Virgin’s finger tips press into the chubby flesh of the child. The statuette, which continues a long tradition of devotional works in boxwood, may have been commissioned with a fictive Dürer monogram is nineteenth century; the child’s arms and the drapery extending from his left hand are repairs that probably date from the same time.
[Notes from the Metropolitan Museum of Art website]
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Abrahan and Thara
From the Exhibition
Radiant Light: Stained Glass from
Canterbury Cathedral
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[Stained Glass on the right]
The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint
British, Kent, ca. 1180
From Christ Church Cathedral at Canterbury,
Possibly the chapel of Saint John the Evangelist
In the southeast transept
The Cloisters Collection, 1984
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The stained-glass windows at Canterbury were
among the glories of England's greatest cathedral,
which was rebuilt after a disastrous fire
in 1174 to accommodate pilgrims coming
to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket.
This panel represents Saint Lawrence,
who, according to his legend, was martyred
on a grill over an open fire.
He is surrounded by three levels of flames and smoke.
Medieval writings proclaim that
he conquered external fires with three inward fires
- his faith, his love of Christ, and his knowledge of God.
[Notes from text beneath the pieces]
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Detail of Saint Lawrence being martyred
From the Metropolitan Museum of Art website.
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Relief with Saint Lawrence Presenting the Poor
Master of the Sonnenberg-Kunigl Altar
White or stone pine with painting and gilding
Austrian, Tyrol, ca. 1490
The Cloisters Collection, 1955
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Saint Lawrence presents the poor as the
true wealth of the Church. He hands bread
to a pilgrim with a hole in his leggings and bare toes.
Kneeling nearby, however, are more
prosperous figures, a knight in armor
and a well-dressed pilgrim. Additional pilgrims
with shell badges on their hats, bear
witness to the scene. The faces of the
figures are varied; some have rather homely
features; others are balding; one is a woman
with a round face but rather piqued expression.
This panel comes from a large,
now-dismantled altar dedicated to the saint.
[Notes from text beneath the piece]
More information on the relief at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art website