The Virgin in a Robe Embroidered with Ears of Corn

c. 1470/1480

German 15th Century

Associated Names
The image shows a person standing in a slightly contorted profile view, facing towards the right side. The person has hands clasped together as if in prayer, a delicate profile with small eyes and a serene expression. They have long, flowing hair cascading down their shoulders and back, topped with a circular halo-like headdress. The individual wears a long, flowing blue garment with darker blue accents and a green sash or collar around the neck. They stand beside an altar or table, on which a chalice is placed alongside a smaller, unidentified object. In the background, there is a decorative element resembling draped garlands. To the side, a bordered architectural detail suggests a wall, and an intricate lattice window design can be seen. The scene is surrounded by a colored border framing the image.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut, hand-colored in blue, green, orange, yellow, rose, and gold

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 8.5 x 6.6 cm (3 3/8 x 2 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.822

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schreiber, Vol. IX, no. 1005, State n


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Anton W.M. Mensing [1866 – 1936], Amsterdam). (Sotheby's, 18 December 1936, lot 228); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA (L1760b and L1932d); gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • Fifteenth-Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 1965-1966, no. 154, repro.

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.

Wikidata ID

Q64953439

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