Swabia ca. 1470/1480
A Swabian carved wooden figure of the Virgin with Child, circa 1470/1480.
Carved three quarters in the round, the reverse hollowed out. Minor remains of the probably original polychromy. A figure of the crowned Virgin standing on a facetted flat plinth in contrapposto with Her right foot extended. The Virgin is shown in a gently swaying pose with Her torso inclined slightly backwards and to the side, holding the nude Christ Child with both hands over Her hip. The fine waves of hair emerging from beneath Her crown and the veil draped delicately across the Virgin's chest testify to the fine quality of the carving and correspond to the masterfully observed folds of Her garments. The work is comparable with a Virgin with Child in the parish church of Rennertshofen on the Bavarian/Swabian border which is attributed to the circle of Hans Multscher and dated to around 1470.
The tips of the crown lost. A wedge shaped breakage to the Virgin's shoulder, the right upper arm of the Child partially replaced. With minimal wear. Height 107 cm.
Literature
On the comparable sculpture in Rennertshofen cf. cat.: Hans Multscher. Bildhauer der Spätgotik in Ulm, Ulm 1997 (Ausstellung im Ulmer Museum), p. 157, illus. 9.
Exhibitions
On loan to the Ulmer Museum from1978 to 2006.