id: 170432 accession number: 2012.52 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2012.52 updated: 2023-03-22 03:04:55.651000 Virgin and Child in Majesty, c. 1150–1200. France, Auvergne, 2nd half of the 12th century. Polychrome wood (walnut); overall: 40 x 22 x 24 cm (15 3/4 x 8 11/16 x 9 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2012.52 title: Virgin and Child in Majesty title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1150–1200 creation date earliest: 1150 creation date latest: 1200 current location: 106B Romanesque & Gothic Sculpture creditline: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund copyright: --- culture: France, Auvergne, 2nd half of the 12th century technique: polychrome wood (walnut) department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Romanesque type: Sculpture find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 40 x 22 x 24 cm (15 3/4 x 8 11/16 x 9 7/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE Collection of Marcel Gimond (1894-1961); Collection of Pierre Lévy, Troyes (1907-2002); Heirs and estate of Pierre Levy (2002-2011); Gallery Brimo de Laroussilhe, Paris (2011-present) date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: In this sculpture of Mary and Jesus, their heads are detachable. digital description: wall description: This sculpture belongs to a group of early representations of the Virgin and Child known as the Sedes Sapientiae (the Throne of Wisdom). The subject embodies a complex and core Christian doctrine of the Virgin’s role in the Incarnation (the moment in which Christ became flesh) and ultimately in the redemption of humankind. Mary faces forward, her gaze toward the beholder. As she is seated on a throne, she in turn becomes the throne to the Christ child, thus symbolizing her role in giving birth not only to the human Jesus, but also to the divine Christ. The Incarnation gave Mary a unique role as principal mediator between heaven and earth, and between God and humankind. As a result, her image proliferated in art, especially after the 12th century, a period in which there was surging interest in Mary’s life and increasing devotion to her person and images. The sculpture belongs to a rare group of surviving figures produced in the Auvergne region of central France during the second half of the 12th century. These "Auvergne" Virgins are estimated to number only about 25 or 30 and are characterized by their linear, calligraphic draperies, which form beautiful swirls and contours. All such sculptures are smaller than life-size and made of wood in order to make them mobile. Evidence suggests that they were moved from altar to altar or church to church, and were frequently carried in procession within churches and town streets on Marian feast days. The heads were intentionally removable in order to "dress" them in costumes for such processions. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 53 no. 02, March/April 2013 page number: Mentioned & reproduced: p. 20 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2013-02/page/n19 Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 266 url: Riordan, Michelle. Muire na mbard: Móradh na Maighdine. Baile Átha Cliath: Foilseacháin Ábhair Spioradálta, 2016. page number: Reproduced: p. 9 (a) url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2012.52/2012.52_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2012.52/2012.52_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2012.52/2012.52_full.tif