Skip to Main Content

Vesperbild (Pietà)

c. 1420
(Austrian)
Austria, Steiermark, 15th century
painted cast stone
Overall: 94 x 92.7 x 39.4 cm (37 x 36 1/2 x 15 1/2 in.)
Weight: 113.398 kg (250 lbs.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1971.67
Location: 111 German and Austrian Gothic
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Description

The word vesperbild is the German word for pietà, the image of the Virgin Mary cradling her dead son on her lap. The theme has no literary source; it originated in Germany during the early 1300s and was more widespread in central Europe than in Italy. These devotional sculptures were used within the interior of a church, in small side chapels dedicated to the Virgin. As in this example, they often convey her grief in a sensitive way. For those who prayed before them, vesperbilds were poignant reminders of the Passion of Christ and the suffering of the Virgin.
Vesperbild (Pietà)

Vesperbild (Pietà)

c. 1420

Master of Grosslobming

(Austrian)
Austria, Steiermark, 15th century

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.