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The sculpture depicts a man wearing ornate ecclesiastical attire. He is shown with his right hand bent and two fingers extended upward, while his left hand clutches what appears to be a folded cloth. He is wearing draping robes with a high collar, and on his head is a tall hat embellished with swirling patterns. He has a long nose, high cheekbones, and slightly downturned lips. The sculpture is a pale, off-white color with some light brown areas.
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The sculpture depicts a man wearing ornate ecclesiastical attire. He is shown with his right hand bent and two fingers extended upward, while his left hand clutches what appears to be a folded cloth. He is wearing draping robes with a high collar, and on his head is a tall hat embellished with swirling patterns. He has a long nose, high cheekbones, and slightly downturned lips. The sculpture is a pale, off-white color with some light brown areas.

National Gallery of Art · Sculpture

A Bishop Saint (Burchard of Würzburg?)

Tilman Riemenschneider

Date
c. 1515/1520
Medium
linden wood with traces of polychromy
Dimensions
overall: 82.3 x 47.2 x 30.2 cm (32 3/8 x 18 9/16 x 11 7/8 in.)
Classification
Sculpture · Statue
Accession number
1961.1.1
Credit line
Samuel H. Kress Collection
Time span
1501 to 1550
Department
CSD
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • painted surface
  • German
  • saints
  • religious
  • carved
  • European Sculpture 1300-1800
  • Renaissance
  • Burchard of Würzburg
Provenance

Wilhelm Sattler and his son, Jens Sattler [d. 1901], Schloss Mainberg (near Kitzingen), before 1826; (Sattler sale, Rudolph Lepke Kunst-Auction-Haus, Berlin, 29 October-2 November 1901, no. 63);[1] Benoit Oppenheim [1842-1931], Berlin, until at least 1927;[2] Munich art market;[3] Henry Goldman [1857-1937], New York, by 1934;[4] (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris), by 1942;[5] sold 1944 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[6] gift by exchange 1961 to NGA. [1] Justus Bier, "The Bust of a Bishop by Tilmann Riemenschneider," _Art Quarterly_ 6 (1943): 166, n. 3. [2] Max J. Friedländer, "Review of Eduard Tönnies, _Leben und Weke des Würzburger Bildschnitzers Tilmann Riemenschneider_, Strasbourg, 1901," _RfK_ 24 (1901): 468; Benoit Oppenheim, _Originalbildwerke in Holz, Stein, Elfenbein, usw. aus der Sammlung Benoit Oppenheim, Berlin_, Leipzig, 1907: no. 10, pl. 6; Kurt Prister, _Riemenschneider_, Dresden, 1927: 34. [3] Bier 1943, 159. [4] Justus Bier, "Tilman Riemenschneider," in Thieme-Becker 28 (1934): 334; Bier 1943, 159. Undated Duveen brochure, in NGA curatorial files. [5] George Swarzenski to Edward Fowles of Duveen Brothers, letter of 9 May 1942, copy in NGA curatorial files. [6] Middeldorf 1976, 125.

NGA object ID 46081. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.