The Mass of Saint Gregory

c. 1470

German 15th Century

Associated Names
German 15th Century

Artist

The image shows three figures in a religious setting. One figure is emerging from a tomb-like structure and is raising both hands. This person has distinct facial features, wears a crown of thorns and a halo, and has dark hair. On the left, a person in a tall hat and red robe kneels near a multicolored altar while holding an open book. On the right, an angelic figure with large red wings and a halo stands beside the kneeling person with hands held in front. The background features a stone wall, an altar, hanging items, and an ornate ceiling. The scene is colorful and includes green, red, yellow surfaces, and text blocks at the bottom.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut, hand-colored in red lake, green, yellow, tan, brown

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.633

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schreiber, no. 1472, State a

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(sale, C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, Cat. 157, 7-9 May 1928, no. 46); Martin Aufhäuser [1875-1944], Munich, Holland, and Los Angeles; [1] purchased 19 August 1939 by Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA (L1760c and L1932d); gift to NGA, 1943.
[1] For complete information on Aufhäuser's collection, see Rosenwald Papers, box 9, and Richard S. Field, Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts, Washington, D.C., 1965, Preface (np).

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1941

  • The First Century of Printmaking 1400-1500, The Art Institute of Chicago, 1941, no. 23.

1953

  • Flight, Fantasy, Faith, Fact: A Loan Exhibition Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of Powered Flight, Dayton Art Institute, OH, 1953-1954, no. 106.

1965

  • Fifteenth-Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 1965-1966, no. 230, 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: no. 230.

Wikidata ID

Q64953103

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