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Statuette - Diana

Diana

  • Object:

    Statuette

  • Place of origin:

    Germany (made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1650 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Kern, Leonhard, born 1588 - died 1662 (sculptors)

  • Museum number:

    A.1-1922

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

  • Download image

Small statuettes of nude figures were popular cabinet items from the sixteenth century onwards. Often, as in this case, the figure was identified as a classical deity by way of attributes. This figure, from the crescent moon on her forehead, represents Diana the Huntress and Goddess of the Moon. The sculptor, Leonhard Kern, who was from the town of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg, specialised in such small figures, executing them in both wood and ivory. The pose and proportions of this statuette suggest that Kern was influenced by sculptures he saw during his visit to Italy.

Physical description

Boxwood statuette of Diana depicted as a huntress with a whippet.

Place of Origin

Germany (made)

Date

ca. 1650 (made)

Artist/maker

Kern, Leonhard, born 1588 - died 1662 (sculptors)

Dimensions

Height: 24 cm, Width: 9 cm, Depth: 8.5 cm

Descriptive line

Statuette Diana, boxwood, German ca. 1650 by Leonhard Kern.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Sauerlandt, Max. Unveröffentliche Arbeiten von Leonhard Kern und seiner Schule. Belvedere. 3, 1924. pp. 50-56.
Müller, J. In: Thieme-Becker Künstlerlexikon. XX, 1927. p. 182.
Fillitz, Hermann. Zu Leonhard Kern : neuaufgefundene werke seiner Hand. Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien. 53, XVII, 1957. p. 216.
Günenwald, Elizabeth. Leonhard Kern; ein Bildhauer des Barock. Schwäbisch Hall, Eppinger, 1969. cat. no. 57. pl. 48.
Dreier, Franz-Adrian. Unbekannte Elfenbeinarbeiten von Leonhard Kern und zwei Reliefs aus der Drehbank des Landgrafen Carl von Hessen. Pantheon. 22, 1964. pp. 96-106.
Theuerkauff, Christian von. Elfenbein: Sammlung Reiner Winkler. München: Kastner & Callwey, 1984. Vol. I. p. 64. no. 28.

Labels and date

DIANA
German, Schwäbisch-Hall; around 1650
Boxwood
By Leonhard Kern (1588-1663)

The roman goddess Diana is shown here as a hunter with her dog. The crescent moon on her forehead is a reference to her status as a goddess of the moon. Kern also made the ivory figures representing Charity and Abundance displayed here.
[1993 - 2011]

Production Note

The attribution to Kern is based on the close similarity to a signed pearwood figure of Eve in the Herzog-Anton-Ulrich Museum in Brunswick.

Materials

Boxwood

Techniques

Carving

Subjects depicted

Dog; Diana

Categories

Sculpture

Collection code

SCP

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Qr_O312263
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