Virgin and Child (c. 1395): Art, History and Details

Virgin and Child (c. 1395) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This sculpture—damaged during the 1800s and now missing the figure of the Christ child—is a fine early example of the type known as the Schöne Madonna or "Beautiful Virgin." This type became popular around 1400 and emphasized the graceful curve of the Virgin’s posture combined with deep, slightly exaggerated drapery folds. This sculpture is known to have come from the Church of Mariapfarr in the Diocese of Salzburg. It was made using a casting technique known as "lost shape." The casting consisted of pulverized limestone combined with quicklime and milk curd poured into a mold. After the cementlike mixture set for several weeks, the mold was destroyed to remove the sculpture, which could then be filed, polished, and painted.

Object facts

• Title: Virgin and Child
• Date: c. 1395
• Culture: Austria, Lungau, Church of Mariapfarr, late 14th century
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: cast stone with traces of original paint
• Dimensions: Overall: 101.9 cm (40 1/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1965.236

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• "Salzburgs Bildende Kunst" (1939)
• Rossacher, Kurt. "The Schone Madonna of Mariapfarr and its Significance for the History of Sculpture around 1400" Alte Und Moderne Kunst IX (January/February 1964).
• Rossacher, Kurt. "Technique and Materials of Stone Casting" Alte Und Moderne Kunst 72 (1964).

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.