Niclaus Gerhaert, a seminal artist of the generation preceding Albrecht Dürer’s, was presumably born in Leiden and was active in Strasbourg and Vienna, as well as in several cities between them. Three of his signed works are known and only four others, including this sculpture, have been seriously ascribed to him.
The statuette expresses a combined sense of drama, monumentality, and elegance through the extraordinarily accomplished carving of the fine-grained wood. The rhythm and balance of the complex drapery folds are set off by fine linear detail and textural contrasts. Among the naturalistic details that subtly enhance the forms is the delicate manner in which the Virgin’s fingertips press into the chubby flesh of the Child. Intended as an object of private devotion, and part of a long tradition in the use of boxwood for this purpose, it may well have been commissioned by a member of the imperial court in Vienna. The dark base, with a fictive Dürer monogram and date on the back, is of later date. Both arms of the Child and the section of drapery held in his left hand are replacements.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Standing Virgin and Child
Artist:Attributed to Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden (North Netherlandish, active Strasbourg, ca. 1462–died 1473 Vienna)
Date:ca. 1470
Geography:Made in probably Vienna, Austria
Culture:Austrian
Medium:Boxwood, tinted lips and eyes
Dimensions:13 1/4 x 5 1/8 x 3 9/16 in. (33.6 x 13 x 9.1 cm)
Classification:Sculpture-Wood
Credit Line:Purchase, The Cloisters Collection and Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1996
Accession Number:1996.14
Baron Anselm Salomon von Rothschild, Vienna (by 1866–1874) ; baron Nathaniel Mayer Anselm von Rothschild 1836–1905, Vienna ; by descent, baron Alphonse Mayer Rothschild (confiscated 1938 and held at Altausse and Kremsmünster) ; restituted to his widow, baroness Clarice de Rothschild (1947–sold 1948) ; [ Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York] ; [ Julius Wilhelm Böhler, Munich] ; [ Julius Harry Böhler, Munich] ; [ Marion Böhler-Eitle, Munich] ; [ Florian Eitle-Böhler, Starnberg (sold 1996)]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mirror of the Medieval World," March 9–June 1, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions," October 24, 2008–February 1, 2009.
Frankfurt. Liebieghaus Skulpturen Sammlung. "Nicolas Gerhaert von Leiden," October 27, 2011–March 4, 2012.
Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame, Musées de Strasbourg. "Nicolas Gerhaert von Leiden," March 30, 2012–July 8, 2012.
Schestag, Franz. Katalog der Kunstsammlung des Freiherrn Anselm von Rothschild in Wien. Vienna: Franz Schestag, 1866. no. 31.
Vöge, Wilhelm. "Über Nicolaus Gerhaert und Nicolaus von Hagenau." Zeitschrift für bildende kunst, Neue Folge, 24 [48] (1913). p. 101.
Böhler, Julius. "Oberrhein. Anfang 16. Jahrhundert." In Gemälde Alter Meister, Plastiken, Kunstgewerbe: Juni-September 1966. Munich, 1966. no. 40.
Petrasch, Ernst, ed. Spätgotik am Oberrhein: Meisterwerke der Plastik und des Kunsthandwerks, 1450-1530. Karlsruhe: Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe, 1970. no. 24, pp. 97–98, fig. 26, 27.
Müller, Theodor. "Review [of the Karlsruhe 1970 exhibition]." Pantheon 28 (1970). p. 433.
Recht, Roland. "Review [of the Karlsruhe 1970 exhibition]." Bulletin Monumental CXXVIII (1970). p. 316.
Homolka, Jaromír. Gotiká plastika na Slovensku. Bratislava: Tatran, 1972. p. 46.
Zimmermann, Eva. "Review [of the Karlsruhe 1970 exhibition]." Jahrbuch der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen in Baden-Württemberg 9 (1972). p. 100.
Deutsch, Wolfgang. "Der ehemalige Hochaltar und das Chorgestühl, zur Syrlin-und Bildhauer Frage." In 600 Jahre Ulmer Münster: Festschrift, edited by Hans Eugen Specker, and Reinhard Wortmann. Forschungen zur Geschichte der Stadt Ulm, Vol. 19. Ulm: W. Kohlhammer Verlag, 1977. p. 280.
Schädler, Alfred. "Die 'Dürer'-madonna der ehemaligen Sammlung Rothschild in Wien und Nicolaus Gerhaert." Städel-Jahrbuch 9 (1983). pp. 41–54.
Rosenfeld, Jörg. "Die Weissenburger Büsten von Niclaus von Leiden und seiner Strassburger Werkstatt." Master's thesis, Universität Hamburg, 1986. pp. 31, 38, 43, 61, 164, 170 n. 164, 172 n. 210, 174 n. 237, 178 n. 316, 172 n. 343, fig. 102–105, 110–116.
Chamonikolasová, Kaliopi. "Nicolaus Gerhaert of Leyden in the Moravian Context." Wiener Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte (1995). pp. 79–81, 83, fig. 8.
Jeromack, Paul. "Seven-figure Sum for Böhler Madonna." The Art Newspaper 7, no. 58 (April 1996). p. 13.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 1995-1996." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 54, no. 2 (Fall 1996). p. 21.
"100 Top Antiques." Art and Antiques 20, no. 3 (March 1997). p. 109, cover ill.
Krohm, Hartmut Dr. "Zuschreibungen an Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden: Eine noch längst nicht abgeschlossene Diskussion." In Skulptur in Süddeutschland 1400-1770 : Festschrift für Alfred Schädler, edited by Rainer Kahsnitz, and Peter Volk. Munich: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1998. pp. 124–125.
Krohm, Hartmut Dr. "Zuschreibungen an Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden: Eine noch längst nicht abgeschlossene Diskussion." In Skulptur in Süddeutschland, 1400-1770: Festschrift für Alfred Schädler, edited by Rainer Kahsnitz, and Peter Volk. Forschungshefte. Bayerisches Nationalmuseum München 15. Munich: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1998. p. 124.
Chapuis, Julien, ed. Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1999. pp. 181–83, 263.
Krone-Balcke, Ulrike. Der Kefermarkter Altar: Sein Meister und seine Werkstatt. Munich: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1999. p. 197.
Wixom, William D., ed. Mirror of the Medieval World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. no. 228, pp. 186–88.
Wixom, William D. "Riemenschneider in America." In Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages, edited by Julien Chapuis. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1999. p. 158.
Roller, Stefan, and Michael Roth. Michel Erhart & Jörg Syrlin der Älter: Spätgotik in Ulm. Stuttgart: Ulmer Museum, 2002. p. 250.
Söding, Ulrich. "Nikolaus Gerhaert von Leiden: Bildwerke der Spätgotik am Oberrhein und in Österreich." In Habsburg und der Oberrhein: Gesellschaftlicher Wandel in einem historischen Raum. Waldkirch: Waldkircher Verlag, 2002. pp. 45–46, fig. 16.
Lichte, Claudia, and Iris Kalden-Rosenfeld, ed. Tilman Riemenschneider: Volume 1, Werke seiner Blütezeit. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner, 2004. p. 244.
Springer, Peter. "The Princeton Madonna: Views of a Remarkable Sculpture." Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 63 (2004). p. 51, fig. 8.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 95, pp. 134, 198.
Wixom, William D. "Late Medieval Sculpture in the Metropolitan: 1400 to 1530." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 64, no. 4 (Spring 2007). p. 6.
Evans, Helen C., ed. The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions – Online Catalogue. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2008.
Roller, Stefan. Niclaus Gerhaert: Der Bildhauer des späten Mittelalters. Petersberg: Michael Imhof, 2011. no. 17, pp. 277–82, fig. 17.1–4.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. 75th Anniversary ed. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. pp. 140–141.
Chapuis, Julien. "Review of Niclaus Gerhaert. Frankfurt am Main and Strasbourg." The Burlington Magazine 154 (February 2012). p. 144.
Dupeux, Cécile, Roland Recht, and Stefan Roller, ed. Nicolas de Leyde, sculpteur du XVe siècle: un regard moderne. Strasbourg: Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame, Musées de Strasbourg, 2012. no. 9, pp. 179, 308, fig. 9, 10.
Kargère, Lucretia Goddard, and Michele D. Marincola. "Conservation in Context: The Examination and Treatment of Medieval Polychrome Wood Sculpture in the United States." Metropolitan Museum Studies in Art, Science, and Technology 2 (2014). p. 26.
Kotková, Olga, ed. German, Austrian, French, Hungarian and Netherlandish Sculpture, 1200-1550: The National Gallery in Prague. Prague: National Gallery in Prague, 2014. p. 68.
Scholten, Frits. "Statuettes: 'Taillee en bois bien fecte'." In Small Wonders: Late-Gothic Boxwood Micro-Carvings from the Low Countries, edited by Frits Scholten. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 2016. pp. 432–33, 435, fig. 180.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.