Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Head of an Old Testament King
(Medieval Europe )
Carved for the abbey church of Saint-Denis (outside Paris), this Old Testament king presented a model of sacred rulership for the French kings who served as the patrons of the monastery. The head, from a pier (column) figure on the building's west façade, was broken off during the French Revolution, when the royal burial church became a key target for vandalism. This head reflects a moment of artistic transition. The carver still works in the abstracted Romanesque style, but incorporates elements based on the observation of nature, such as the soft rounding of the face and the wavy curls of hair. Artists would continue to expand upon this interest in naturalism in the Gothic and Renaissance periods.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Raoul Heilbronner, Paris; Dikran Kelekian, Paris; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2018-2019 | Naissance de la Sculpture Gothique, Saint-Denis, Paris, Chartres (1135-1150). Musée de Cluny, Paris. |
| 2006-2007 | Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
| 1981 | The Royal Abbey of St. Denis at the Time of Abbot Suger (1125-1151). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
| 1966-1967 | Treasures from Medieval France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. |
| 1967 | An Exhibition of the Treasures of The Walters Art Gallery. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton; Pace Wildenstein Gallery, New York. |
| 2024 | The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century. Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. 0. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Report | other | |
| 3/26/1940 | Treatment | other |
| 6/16/1942 | Treatment | other |
| 6/14/1966 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 3/17/1969 | Treatment | other |
| 6/22/1971 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 2/5/1981 | Treatment | cleaned; other |
| 2/5/1981 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 8/24/1984 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
| 5/17/1993 | Treatment | other |
| 11/18/1998 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation; other |
| 1/17/2006 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
Geographies
France, Seine-Saint-Denis, Abbey Church of Saint-Denis (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 14 3/16 x W: 7 1/2 x D: 8 9/16 in. (36 x 19 x 21.8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1911
Location in Museum
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.
27.22