Virgin
Statue
ca. 1330-1350 (made)
ca. 1330-1350 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This figure is one of a pair representing the Coronation of the Virgin. The pair was separated at some time after 1905. The figure of Christ is now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The seated Virgin turns and looks towards Christ, who once sat beside her. The scene is frozen at the moment just after Christ has placed the small crown on the Virgin’s head. It would have been set at the centre of an altarpiece, flanked by Apostles and possibly other saints.
The scene of the Coronation of the Virgin first appeared in the middle of the 1100s. It celebrates the Virgin’s status as the Queen of Heaven. Representations of it became increasingly widespread as the Virgin’s popularity grew. Devotion to her was connected with her perceived powers of intercession on behalf of sinners. She also had a particular appeal for women, especially mothers. Numerous churches and cathedrals were dedicated to the Virgin between the 1100s and the 1300s. A sculpture of the Coronation often appears above their entrances.
This figure gives some idea of the original opulence of much medieval sculpture. It is true that the painted decoration has been abraded and lost in places. But enough remains to show the refined painting technique and the love of surface enrichment. The Virgin’s face is painted especially delicately. Her draperies are adorned by raised gesso and inlaid decoration of false gems. The oval hollow in her chest probably once contained a relic covered by rock crystal.
The scene of the Coronation of the Virgin first appeared in the middle of the 1100s. It celebrates the Virgin’s status as the Queen of Heaven. Representations of it became increasingly widespread as the Virgin’s popularity grew. Devotion to her was connected with her perceived powers of intercession on behalf of sinners. She also had a particular appeal for women, especially mothers. Numerous churches and cathedrals were dedicated to the Virgin between the 1100s and the 1300s. A sculpture of the Coronation often appears above their entrances.
This figure gives some idea of the original opulence of much medieval sculpture. It is true that the painted decoration has been abraded and lost in places. But enough remains to show the refined painting technique and the love of surface enrichment. The Virgin’s face is painted especially delicately. Her draperies are adorned by raised gesso and inlaid decoration of false gems. The oval hollow in her chest probably once contained a relic covered by rock crystal.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Virgin (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Painted and gilded oak, with raised gesso patterns, inset with cabochon stones |
| Brief description | Figure of the Virgin, from a Coronation Group, oak, Mosan, probably Liège, ca. 1330-50. |
| Physical description | Figure of the Virgin Mary, seated , oak, painted and gilded with raised gesso patterns, inset with cabochon stones. The Virgin is seated on a low bench on an hexagonal plinth, her body turned to the right with her arms bent at the elbows. Both her left hand and right forearm and hand are now missing, but they would originally have extended in a gesture of prayer.She is dressed in a high-waisted gown, over which is draped a long mantle cro0ssed in deep folds above her knees. Her head is covered with a short white veil, which is held on by a simple gilded crown originally adorned with cabochon stones. A concave hemisphere has been hollowed out on the Virgin's chest, which would probably have originally accomodated a rock crystal roundel (with a relic underneath?) |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs F. Leverton Harris |
| Object history | Formerly in the G. Francotte Collection, Liège, by 1905, Durlacher Brothers, London. The Rt. Hon. F. Leverton Harris Collection, London; Gift of Mrs. F. Leverton Harris. |
| Historical context | This figure originally formed part of an altarpiece with the Coronation of the Virgin at the centre. Its pendant, the seated figure of Christ, is now in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Two other seated figures, one representing St. Paul, the other probably St. Peter, bought by the Landesmuseum Münster in 1971, are certainly products of the same workshop and may even come fromthe same altarpiece. The style of the present piece ponts to a Liège origin. The stylistic traits displayed here - such as the treatmen of the drapery and the disitinctive facial type - are seen from around 1330 in the Mosan and Lower Rhenish areas and culminate in such works as the Coronation of the Virgin group above the north portal of St.-Jacques at Liège , of about 1400. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This figure is one of a pair representing the Coronation of the Virgin. The pair was separated at some time after 1905. The figure of Christ is now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The seated Virgin turns and looks towards Christ, who once sat beside her. The scene is frozen at the moment just after Christ has placed the small crown on the Virgin’s head. It would have been set at the centre of an altarpiece, flanked by Apostles and possibly other saints. The scene of the Coronation of the Virgin first appeared in the middle of the 1100s. It celebrates the Virgin’s status as the Queen of Heaven. Representations of it became increasingly widespread as the Virgin’s popularity grew. Devotion to her was connected with her perceived powers of intercession on behalf of sinners. She also had a particular appeal for women, especially mothers. Numerous churches and cathedrals were dedicated to the Virgin between the 1100s and the 1300s. A sculpture of the Coronation often appears above their entrances. This figure gives some idea of the original opulence of much medieval sculpture. It is true that the painted decoration has been abraded and lost in places. But enough remains to show the refined painting technique and the love of surface enrichment. The Virgin’s face is painted especially delicately. Her draperies are adorned by raised gesso and inlaid decoration of false gems. The oval hollow in her chest probably once contained a relic covered by rock crystal. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.4-1929 |
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| Record created | November 14, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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