The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 13, 2024

Mourner from the Tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1364–1404)

1404–10

Claus de Werve

(Netherlandish, 1380–1439)

Netherlands, active Dijon, 15th century

vizille alabaster

Overall: 41.1 x 17.6 x 11 cm (16 3/16 x 6 15/16 x 4 5/16 in.)

Bequest of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1958.67

Location: 109 Gothic Painting and Sculpture

Did You Know?

The use of alabaster in the late Middle Ages began in the 1300s with court art in the circles of French kings, especially in the field of funerary sculpture.

Description

This figure comes from the tomb of Duke Philip the Bold from the church of Champmol near Dijon (Burgundy, France). Philip, who founded the monastery and designated it as his burial place, hired the best artists, many of whom came from the Netherlands. While the commission was given in 1381, the work was not completed until 1410, six years after the duke’s death.

This mourner is unusual for the time because it is not carved as a static low relief on the pedestal of the tomb but interact with the viewers and their fellow procession members. The lifelike quality of the figure is due in large part to the alabaster. Its softness allowed artists to carve details into the material, and the transparent, milky white stone could also be polished to a high gloss.

?-1875
Vicomte Edouard de Broissia & son, Georges (d. 1875), Dijon, France
1875-?
(M. Legay, Nancy, sold to Charles Stein)
(Charles Stein, Paris, France)
1919-?
(Duveen Brothers., Paris, France)
by 1922-1939
Clarence Mackay (d. 1939), New York, NY
1939-1940
(Jacques Seligmann, New York, NY, sold to Leonard C. Hanna)
1940-1958
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1958-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Musée Des Beaux-Arts, Dijon France mba-collections.dijon.fr
Beaulieu, Michèle. 1949. "Deux pleurants de Jaume Cascalls provenant des sépultures royales de Poblet: Musée du Louvre". Musées De France. 96-98. No Iv.
Cleveland Museum of Art, and William Mathewson Milliken. In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. [Catalogue]. 1958. no. 161
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 64 archive.org
Wixom, William D. Treasures from Medieval France. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 256-257; cat. no. VI-21 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 64 archive.org
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 72 archive.org
Alsop, Joseph. The Rare Art Traditions: The History of Art Collecting and Its Linked Phenomena Wherever These Have Appeared. New York: Harper & Row, 1982. Reproduced: fig. 4
De Winter, Patrick M. "Art from the Duchy of Burgundy." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 10 (1987). p. 411-424 www.jstor.org
Fliegel, Stephen N., Sophie Jugie, and Virginie Barthélémy. Art from the Court of Burgundy: The Patronage of Philip the Bold and John the Fearless 1364-1419. Dijon, France: Musée des beaux-arts, 2004. Cat. No.83; reproduced .p.233.no.35
Domine, Heidi, "Time Machine", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 44 no. 01, January 2004 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 8-9 archive.org
Klein, Holger A. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 202-205, no. 73
Kemperdick, Stephan, and Friso Lammertse. The Road to Van Eyck. Rotterdam: Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, 2012. Cat. No. 24B; pp. 164-165
Anna Simon, review of The Road to Van Eyck, by Stephan Kemperdick und Friso Lammertse, Journal für Kunstgeschichte 17 (April 2013): 258-268. Reproduced: p. 259
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 272
Mikolic, Amanda. Fashionable Mourners: Bronze Statuettes from the Rijksmuseum. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2017. Reproduced: p. 1, fig. 1
Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 188-191; Reproduced: p. 189
Freundeskreis des Bayerischen Nationalmuseums. Hommage: Renate Eikelmann. München: Sieveking Verlag, 2018. Reproduced: p. 60
Riemenschneider and Late Medieval Alabaster. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-July 23, 2023).
Johan Maelwael from Guelders. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands (organizer) (October 6, 2017-January 7, 2018).
The Road to Van Eyck. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands (organizer) (October 13, 2012-February 10, 2013).
The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (March 1-May 23, 2010).
Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009).
Dukes and Angels: Art from the Court of Burgundy (1364-1419). Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon, Dijon, France (May 27-September 15, 2004); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 24, 2004-January 9, 2005).
Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
Les Pleurant dans la Sculpture du Moyen Age en Europe, Musée de Dijon, Dijon, France; Palais des États de Bourgoge (July 3-September 12, 1971).
Treasures of Medieval France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1966-January 29, 1967).
Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).
The International Style: The Arts in Europe around 1400. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (organizer) (October 23-December 2, 1962).
International Style, The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, (October 22-December 30, 1962).
European Art Around 1400. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Wien, Austria (organizer) (May 7-July 31, 1962).
European Art about 1400, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria (May-July 1962).
25th Anniversary Exhibition. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA (organizer) (January 13-March 5, 1961).
Treasures in America, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, (January 13-March 5, 1961).
In Memoriam Leonard C. Hanna Jr., The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH 3/4/1958 - 4/6/1958).
Deux Pleurants de Jaume Cascalle Provenant des Sepultures Royales de Poblet, Musées du Louvre, Paris, France, (May, 1949).
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Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.67