German, Upper Rhine, circa 1480-1490

with Blumka Gallery, New York;
private collection, Europe

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Museum of Arts, Songs of Glory. Medieval art from 900 to 1500, 1985, no. 35

D. Mickenberg (ed.), Songs of Glory. Medieval art from 900 to 1500, exh. cat. Oklahoma Museum of Arts, Oklahoma City, 1985, p. 132, no. 35

Overall the condition of the wood is good with wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There is wear to the polychromy throughout including rubbing at some of the high points and some flaking around the base. The paint was refreshed in a few instances, including the blue at both shoulders. There are a few losses, including to the tips of the crown, the ends of the curls, the fingers of the proper right hand, a small chip at the edge of the drapery on the proper left side. There are a few further minor chips. The tips of the shoes, the proper left hand, and a section of the bunch of grapes were probably reattached. There is some worming to the surface consistent with material, particularly around the base and around the shoulders on the reverse. There is some wear around the edges of the base.
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The beautiful youthful face, long dense curls, and the stance of the present Saint suggest it was carved in the closing decades of the 15th century. The fine facial features and sharply defined and lightly crumpled drapery compare with several carvings from the region of Strasbourg and Trier, including the Malberg-Madonna in the Dom- und Diözesanmuseum of Trier (inv. no. P771). Note also the similarly designed crown of the Malberg-Madonna. The engravings of the Master E.S. were of considerable influence on this generation of Upper Rhenish sculptors. The head and stance of his Saint Sebastian seem to have directly influenced the present figure.

RELATED LITERATURE
H. Bevers (ed.), Meister E.S. Ein oberrheinischer Kupferstecher der Spätgotik, exh. cat. Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, Munich, 1986, p. 167, fig. 75, no. 74; S. Roller (ed.), Niclaus Gerhaert. Der Bildhauer des späten Mittelalters, exh. cat. Liebighaus, Frankfurt and Musée de l'Oeuvre Notre-Dame, Strasbourg, Frankfurt, 2011, pp. 123, 136-137, 314-315, figs. 131, 154-156, no. 29