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Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
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Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail
Head of an Old Testament King Thumbnail

Head of an Old Testament King

French (Sculptor)
ca. 1140 (Medieval)
limestone
(Medieval Europe )

Sculptural innovation of the Gothic period can be seen in this head of an Old Testament monarch, carved for the abbey church of Saint-Denis, outside Paris. The head, from a pier (column) figure on the building's west façade, represents the transition between the abstraction and solidity characteristic of the eleventh and earlier twelfth centuries (often called the "Romanesque" period), and the increased interest in naturalism seen from the later twelfth century through the end of the medieval period. Although this example is by no means a realistic representation of the human figure, the sculptor has incorporated elements based on the observation of nature, such as the softly rounded contours of the face and the wavy curls of hair. This interest in naturalism continued to develop through the later Middle Ages and the early modern period.

When this sculpture was in situ, the feet of the full-length figure would have been at about the height of a viewer's head, and the monarch would have stared down at the viewer, his crown, robe and eyes brightly painted and adorned with inset glass and metal. The heads of the jamb figures were removed from the portal in the late eighteenth century, just before the royal burial church became a target of vandalism during the French Revolution.

Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Abbey of St. Denis, Paris [said to be a head from a west façade portal jamb statue]; Raoul Heilbronner, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Dikran Kelekian, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; 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.
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.
1981 The Royal Abbey of St. Denis at the Time of Abbot Suger (1125-1151). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
2023 The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century. Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. 0.

Conservation

Date Description Narrative
6/14/1966 Treatment cleaned
6/22/1971 Treatment cleaned
2/5/1981 Examination examined for condition
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Geographies

France, Saint-Denis, Abbey Church of Saint-Denis (Place of Origin)

Measurements

H: 14 3/8 x W: 9 1/16 x D: 8 3/4 in. (36.5 x 23 x 22.3 cm)

Credit Line

Acquired by Henry Walters, 1911

Location in Museum

Centre Street: Third Floor: Romanesque and Gothic Art

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

27.21

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  • Thursday: 1–8 p.m.
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600 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD
21201

Phone

410-547-9000

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