Head of an Apostle (c. 1325–1350): Art, History and Details

Head of an Apostle (c. 1325–1350) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This detached head with deeply incised hair was likely that of a large, nearly life-sized figure of an apostle. It would have originally stood more than 6 feet in height and was gilded and painted. The head was formerly affixed to a halo carved from the same block of stone, and the head would have been slightly angled downward. Though its original context is unknown, the style is generally suggestive of sculptural programs in Toulouse during the early 1300s.

Object facts

• Title: Head of an Apostle
• Date: c. 1325–1350
• Culture: Southwestern France, Toulouse?, 14th century
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: limestone, with traces of polychromy
• Dimensions: Overall: 36.2 x 24.2 x 20.4 cm (14 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 8 1/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1960.170

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, “Recent Acquisition Press Release,” September 9, 1960, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• Wixom, William D. Treasures from Medieval France. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.