The Descent of the Holy Ghost

c. 1450

German 15th Century

Associated Names
German 15th Century

Artist

The image shows a group of people sitting closely in a circular arrangement with one central figure in the forefront. The individuals have halos around their heads and stylized facial features. The central figure wears prominently draped garments, and the surrounding figures wear similar garments in varying colors. The figures have wavy hair mostly covered by the halos. A dove descends from a cloud above them. The background features a geometric pattern on the floor and the scene is framed with decorative borders of flowers and zigzag patterns.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut with hand coloring in tan, brown, orange-red, green, rose, red lake, blue, and gold on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 20.9 × 15.7 cm (8 1/4 × 6 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.513

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schreiber, no. 587, State a

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

J.H. von Hefner-Alteneck. Siegfried Laemmle [1863-1953], Munich; Martin Aufhäuser [1875-1944], Munich, Holland, and Los Angeles; [1] Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA (L.1760c and L.1932d); gift to NGA, 1943.
[1] For complete information on Aufhäuser's collection, see Rosenwald Papers, box 11, and Richard S. Field, Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts, Washington, D.C., 1965, Preface (np).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • Fifteenth-Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 1965-1966, no. 100, repro.

  • Selected 15th Century Prints from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, 1965, no. 5.

Bibliography

1926

  • Schreiber, Wilhelm Ludwig. Handbuch de Holz- und Metailschnitte des XV Jahrhunderts. 8 vols. Leipzig: Verlag Karl W. Hierseman, 1926-1930.

1965

  • Field, Richard S. Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1965: no. 100.

Inscriptions

recto: none; verso: in graphite, in later hand, at upper right: 70; in graphite, in later hand, above center: S [?] 1406; in graphite, in later hand, left of center: 15 G 47; in graphite, in later hand, at bottom left: B-3068

Markings

none

Wikidata ID

Q64952949

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