The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Coronation of the Virgin

c. 1410

Master of the Fröndenberg Altarpiece

(German)

Germany, 15th century

tempera and gold on wood

Framed: 77 x 59.5 x 8 cm (30 5/16 x 23 7/16 x 3 1/8 in.); Unframed: 64.8 x 47.5 cm (25 1/2 x 18 11/16 in.)

Gift of the Friends of The Cleveland Museum of Art 1929.920

Location: 111 German and Austrian Gothic

Did You Know?

This is only one panel from what would have been a large altarpiece dedicated to the Virgin.

Description

This panel once formed the left wing of an altarpiece originally located in a Cistercian convent in the German town of Fröndenberg. The Coronation of the Virgin was a common subject; though it is not based on a biblical text it often appeared in medieval books of hours as a focus of contemplation. It represents the culminating event in the life of Mary. Here, Christ and the Virgin are housed in an architectural setting; the Virgin kneels before Christ as he crowns her in the company of a group of angels. The color palette is particularly rich: pink, deep red, blue, and a delicate green as well as large areas of gold leaf. The well-developed, proportional figures, modeled drapery, and detailed architectural throne suggest an artist with a high level of experience and sophistication.

c. 1410
Cistercian Convent, Fröndenberg, Germany
1853
Haindorf Collection, Münster, Germany
1879
Loeb, Haus Caldenhof near Hamm, Germany
June 8, 1929
(Sale: Rudolph Lepke, Berlin, Germany, June 8, 1929, no. 2)
-1929
(A. S. Drey, Munich, Germany, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1929-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Lübke, Wilhelm. Die mittelalterliche Kunst in Westfalen [Textbd.]. [Textbd.]. 1853. 344
Katalog zur Austellung westfälischer Alterthümer u. Kunssterzeugnisse vom Vereine für Geschichte und Alterthumskunde Westfalens im Juni 1879 zu Munster. Münster: Dr. der Theissing'sthen Buchhandlung, 1879. cat. no. 1446
Nordhoff, J.B. "Die Soester Malerei unter Meister Conrad," Bonner Jahrbucher LXVII (1879). 126
Vogeler, and Albert Ludorff. Die Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler von Westfalen. 16, 16. Münster in Westfalen: Schöningh, 1905. 148
Burger, Fritz, and H. Beth Schitz. Die deutsche Malerei der Renaissance. Leipzig: [s.n.], 1917. 400
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Rudolph Lepke's Kunst-Auctions-Haus. Altdeutsche und altniederländische Tafelgemälde. 1929. no. 2
W. M. M. “‘Coronation of the Virgin,’ by Conrad Von Soest: Fourth Gift of the Friends of the Cleveland Museum of Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 17, no. 2 (1930). pp. 19-22 www.jstor.org
Nissen, Robert, "Der Meister des Frondenberger Altares," Westfalen XVI (1931). pp. 62-5
Stange, Alfred. Deutsche Malerei der Gotik. Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1934. 1938: pp. 35-37, fig. 36
Tietze, Hans. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika, mit über 300 Kupfertiefdrucktafeln. Wien: Phaidon-Verlag, 1935. pl. 195
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Kuhn, Charles Louis, and Arthur Burkhard. A Catalogue of German Paintings of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in American Collections. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1936. no. 62
Tietze, Hans. Masterpieces of European Painting in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1939. p. 195
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Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte der Stadt Dortmund. Conrad von Soest und sein Kreis: Ausstellung. Dortmund: The Museum, 1950. ca. no. 79
Rensing, Theodor. "Ratsel um Konrad von Soest," Westfalen XXVIII (1950). 164
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The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 456 archive.org
Muhlberg, Fried. Bau- und Kunstdenkmalervon Westfalen, 47 Bd. Kreis Unna. (1959). 138
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The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 66 archive.org
Troescher, George. Burgundische Malerei. Berlin: Mann, 1966. I, 64; II, pl. 59, fig. 176
Stange, Alfred. Kritisches Verzeichnis der deutschen Tafelbilder vor Dürer. (München): Bruckmann, 1967. 143, no. 461
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 66 archive.org
Wixom, William D. “An Enthroned Madonna with the Writing Christ Child.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 57, no. 9 (1970) 297, fig. 23 www.jstor.org
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The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 74 archive.org
Meister des Fröndenberger Altares, Jürgen Reissner, and Gerhard Lemke. Der Marienaltar in der Stiftskirche zu Fröndenberg. Fröndenberg: Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Fröndenberg und Bausenhagen, 2002. Fig. 11, p. 52
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Reissner, Jürgen, and Conrad. Der Fröndenberger Flügelaltar: das Frühwerk des Conrad von Soest : eine Einordnung in sein Werk. Fröndenberg: Stadt Fröndenberg/Ruhr, 2004. p. 41
Austellung westfälischer Alterthümer und Kunsterzeutnisse, Collegium Ludgerianum, Münster Germany (June 1879).
Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).
Conrad von Soest und Sein Kreis, Museum fur Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Dortmund, Germany (July-September, 1950).
The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
Art of the Middle Ages, 1000-1400, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA (February 17 to March 24, 1940).
The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936).
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Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1929.920