Head of an Apostle

Description Scientific analysis carried out on this apostle's head shows that the limestone came from a quarry near Paris. The head, which was made for a pillar or pier statue in a church, is beautifully carved with a smooth face and delicate lines under the eyes. The custom of attaching figures to columns or piers derives from medieval theology and the designation of apostles and saints as the living pillars of the Church.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
6/14/1966	Treatment	cleaned
6/23/1971	Treatment	cleaned

Exhibitions

• Transformations of the Court Style: Gothic Art in Europe, 1270-1330. Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. 1977.
• Les Fastes du Gothique: le Siècle de Charles V. Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris. 1981-1982.
• To Arrest the Ravages of Time: Caring for Art at the Walters. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1996.
• Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1999-2000.

Provenance Dikran Kelekian, Paris and New York; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1917, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1917