id: 171615 accession number: 2014.392 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2014.392 updated: 2023-03-20 10:12:31.877000 Virgin and Child, late 1200s. Mosan (Valley of the Meuse), Liège(?), late 13th century. Wood (oak) with polychromy and gilding; overall: 83 x 24 x 20 cm (32 11/16 x 9 7/16 x 7 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 2014.392 title: Virgin and Child title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: late 1200s creation date earliest: 1250 creation date latest: 1299 current location: 106C Medieval Treasury creditline: John L. Severance Fund copyright: --- culture: Mosan (Valley of the Meuse), Liège(?), late 13th century technique: wood (oak) with polychromy and gilding department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Medieval Art type: Sculpture find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 83 x 24 x 20 cm (32 11/16 x 9 7/16 x 7 7/8 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE Reportedly on the French art market date: 1960s footnotes: citations: Gustav Rau collection, Stuttgart, Germany, a noted philanthropist and collector of Impressionist paintings and sculpture. date: 1960s-2013 footnotes: citations: Sold at Rau's sale to benefit Unicef at Sotheby's, London (July 2, 2013), lot 8 date: July 2, 2013 footnotes: citations: [Daniel Katz, London], sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: 2013-2014 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Oh date: 2014- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Dragons, like the one Mary is standing on, sometimes look more like snakes in medieval art. digital description: wall description: This sculpture is a rare survival in wood from the valley of the Meuse River (modern Belgium and Holland), an important region for the production of ecclesiastical art in the 1100s and 1200s. The elegantly draped figure is remarkable for the preservation of much of its original paint and gilding, including the Virgin's gilded mantle highlighted with decorative bands of geometric patterns and the green dragon on which she stands. There are small settings around the Virgin's neck and along the border of the mantle that would have originally been set with gem and glass cabochons in imitation of the richly adorned metalwork for which Mosan art was highly esteemed. The settings for these cabochons provide some hint of the original opulence of this sculpture. The Virgin's serene features and beautiful countenance are noteworthy, as is the refined execution of the draperies. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Bonnet Saint-Georges, Bénédicte "Une Vierge mosane pour le musée de Cleveland" La Tribune de l'Art (December 21, 2014). page number: url: https://www.latribunedelart.com/une-vierge-mosane-pour-le-musee-de-cleveland Litt, Steven "Rare Sculpture is Among New Pieces" The Cleveland Plain Dealer (December 21, 2014). page number: p. D4 url: George, Philippe. Art et Patrimoine en Wallonie des Origines à 1789: Essai de Synthèse à la Lumière des Collections Américaines et Européennes. Namur: Institut du Patrimoine Wallon, 2017. N6969 .W3 G46 2017 page number: Reproduced; p. 194, fog. 285 a-c url: Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. page number: Mentioned: p. 34-37; Reproduced: p. 35 url: Verbrugge, Anne. "Restoration and Gothic Revival." In Arenberg. Mark Derez, Soetkin Vanhauwaert and Anne Verbrugge, editors. Turnhout : Brepols, 2018. page number: Mentioned: p.354 url: Beer, Manuela. Magic Rock Crystal. 2022. page number: fig. 282, p. 301 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2014.392/2014.392_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2014.392/2014.392_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2014.392/2014.392_full.tif