id:			358303
accession number:	2019.75
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2019.75
updated:		2023-03-22 03:05:26.242000

Figure of the Pietà, c. 1761. Sculpture Joseph Willems (Flemish, 1715–1766), manufactured by Chelsea Porcelain Factory (Britain, London, 1745–84). Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels; height: 38.5 cm (15 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Museum purchase from various donors by exchange 2019.75

title:				Figure of the Pietà
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			c. 1761
creation date earliest:		1756
creation date latest:		1766
current location:		203A British Painting and Decorative Arts
creditline:			Museum purchase from various donors by exchange
copyright:			

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culture:	England, London, Chelsea
technique:	Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels
department:	Decorative Art and Design
collection:	Decorative Arts
type:		Ceramic
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Joseph Willems (Flemish, 1715–1766)  - sculptor
Flemish ceramicist, 1715-1766, active in Great Britain
* Chelsea Porcelain Factory (Britain, London, 1745–84)  - maker

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measurements: height: 38.5 cm (15 3/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

	inscription:	Painted in gilt over the glaze at base of figure on the reverse: [a gold anchor]
	translation:	
	remark:		

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		British Gallery Reinstallation  (June 2020)
	opening date:   2020-06-30T04:00:00
	<i>British Gallery Reinstallation  (June 2020)</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* No existing exhibition history

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PROVENANCE

	(Christies, London, February 11, 1991, no. 90)
	date: 1991
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Robert Williams, Winifred Williams, Ltd., London, 1991)
	date: 1991
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Private collector, Australia, 1992
	date: 1992-?
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(E. & H. Manners,Ltd., London, 2018)
	date: 2018
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2019-
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
Only three examples of this figure by the Chelsea Porcelain Factory are known to exist.

digital description:
The distinctively Roman Catholic subject of Mary cradling her son, the crucified Christ, suggests this figure was probably made for one of the aristocratic English families forced to practice their Catholicism in secret during the mid-1700s. Because of the laws banning Catholic worship in England, grand houses were often modified to include private chapels or rooms in private quarters where visiting priests delivered the sacraments in defiance of the laws favoring Protestant worship. A figure of this size and type likely would have served as an important devotional focal point within that context.

wall description:
The distinctively Roman Catholic subject of Mary cradling her son, the crucified Christ, suggests this figure was probably made for one of the aristocratic English families forced to practice their Catholicism in secret during the mid-1700s. Because of the laws banning Catholic worship in England, grand houses were often modified to include private chapels or rooms in private quarters where visiting priests delivered the sacraments in defiance of the laws favoring Protestant worship. A figure of this size and type likely would have served as an important devotional focal point within that context.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Mathew Martin, “The Chelsea Pietà,” in <em>Fire and Form: The Baroque and Influence on English Ceramics, c. 1600-c. 1760 </em>(London: English Ceramic Circle, 2013)
	page number: 	Mentioned:  pp. 82-3
	url:		https://ingallslibrary.on.worldcat.org/oclc/857143889

	Harrison, Stephen. “Acquisitions 2019: Decorative Art and Design.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine </em>60, no. 2 (March/April 2020): 27.
	page number: 	Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 27.
	url:		

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2019.75/2019.75_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2019.75/2019.75_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2019.75/2019.75_full.tif