Saint Stephen (1502–8): Art, History and Details

Saint Stephen (1502–8) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Tilman Riemenschneider (German, active Würzburg, c. 1460–1531).

The work and its context

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

This sculpture, along with that of Saint Lawrence (1959.42) and two others in Germany, are believed to be the remaining fragments of a large altarpiece carved by Riemenschneider for the Dominican convent in Rothenburg in Franconia (demolished in 1813). Saints Stephen and Lawrence both wear the dalmatic to indicate their status as deacons in the early church. Each holds a symbol of his martyrdom; here, Saint Stephen cradles some stones to indicate his death by stoning. Art in Germany through the early 1500s remained firmly anchored in the late Gothic style with its associated interests in realism. Riemenschneider was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of this style, a recognized master in both stone and wood. His flourishing workshop employed as many as 40 apprentices in sculpting, woodcarving, and painting. His sculptures are noted for the dreamy, melancholy, and introspective quality in their expressions, as well as their remarkable attention to detail.

Object facts

• Title: Saint Stephen
• Date: 1502–8
• Creator attribution: Tilman Riemenschneider (German, active Würzburg, c. 1460–1531)
• Culture: Germany, Würzburg, 16th century
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: lindenwood with polychromy and gilding
• Dimensions: Overall: 93.5 x 35 x 23.5 cm (36 13/16 x 13 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1959.43

A detail from the museum

Tilman Riemenschneider (c. 1460–1531) is probably the most famous German sculptor of the period around 1500.

Collection credit

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Feulner, Adolf, and Theodor Müller. Geschichte der deutschen Plastik. München: F. Bruckmann, 1887.
• Riemenschneider, Tilman, and Carl Streit. Tylmann Riemenschneider: 1460-1531 ; Leben und Kunstwerke des fränkischen Bildschnitzers. 1 (1888) 1 (1888). Berlin: Wasmuth, 1888.
• Tönies,Eduard "Leben und Werke des Würzburger Bildscnitzers Tilmann Riemenschneider" Studien zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte XXII (1900).

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.