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Mourner
In a remarkable expression of realism, the artist conveys the "weight" of personal grief through the rhythmic interplay of heavy folds of drapery. The mourner's face is carved, but it would not have been visible to the contemporary viewer. In honoring the dead, funeral monuments of the late Middle Ages often re-created funeral processions through a cloister by placing figures of mourners in an arcade around the sides of the tomb. The tomb carved by the sculptor Claus Sluter (active 1375-1405) for the Burgundian duke Philip the Bold (1342-1404) in Dijon was the first featuring freestanding figures within a three-dimensional arcade. The Walters mourning monk must come from a slightly later tomb influenced by Sluter's new realism and monumentality.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Arnold Seligmann, Rey and Co., New York; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1919, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1998-2001 | Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1999-2000 | Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1984-1985 | Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1985 | Songs of Glory: Medieval Art from 900-1500. Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma City. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 6/14/1966 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 6/23/1971 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
France, Burgundy (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Overall: H: 17 1/2 × W: 6 1/2 × D: 4 7/8 in. (44.45 × 16.51 × 12.38 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1919
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: Migration and Early Medieval Art
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
27.339