Nuremberg circa 1520/1525
A carved wood figure of Mary Magdalene reading petitions, Nuremberg, circa 1520/1525
Presumably limewood, carved in the round and partially hollowed out. Minimal remains of former polychromy. This standing figure of a female saint holding an open book in her right hand can be interpreted as Mary Magdalene reading petitions. The hole in her chest would have been used to insert small sheets of paper with petitions as well as coins. The hole in the back of the figure carved into the hair served to remove them. The composition and facial features of the figure indicate a connection to the circle of Veit Stoss of Nuremberg, and is particularly comparable to the figure of the Virgin in his Nativity scene in the central panel of the high altar of the Carmelite church in Nuremberg (now housed in the Dom- und Diözesanmuseum in Bamberg) which was created by Stoss in around 1520/1523.
The left index finger loosely attached. Vertical hairline cracks. Very minor wear throughout. Height 68 cm.
Provenance
Manfred Baum art dealership, Würzburg. - Private collection, Württemberg.
Literature
For comparable works cf. cat.: Veit Stoß in Nürnberg, ed. by Rainer Kahsnitz et al., Munich 1983 (Ausstellung des Germanischen Nationalmuseums Nürnberg), p. 333-350, cat. no. 30, here p. 335, illus. 197.
Exhibitions
Mozart-Fest Würzburg 1971 and 1972.