The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

The Immaculate Conception

The Immaculate Conception

c. 1770
(German, 1725–1775)
Germany, Munich, 18th century
painted and gilded wood
Overall: 78.6 x 34.5 x 19.2 cm (30 15/16 x 13 9/16 x 7 9/16 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1963.294
Location: 214 Central and Northern European

Description

The Christian doctrine of the Immaculate Conception maintains that the Virgin Mary was conceived free from sin, ready to be the pure vessel for Christ’s birth. Depicting such an abstract idea required specific imagery. The moon beneath the Virgin’s feet, for example, comes from the New Testament vision of Saint John the Evangelist (Revelation 12:1) of “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,” while the serpent upon which she treads symbolizes Christ’s triumph over original sin. With his characteristically delicate modeling, elongated proportions, and soft coloring, Ignaz Günther created an archetypal image of innocence on the cusp of womanhood.
  • Private collection, Munich (sold, Weinmüller, Munich, December 5-6, 1962, lot no. 1149, to Kurt Rossacher)
    Kurt Rossacher (Salzburg, Austria), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1963.
  • Lee, Sherman E. "Year in Review for 1963." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 50, no. 10 (1963): 263-94. Referenced: cat. no. 2, Reproduced: p. 247 www.jstor.org
    Hawley, Henry. "Eighteenth-century Sculpture from Germany and Austria." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art, LI, no. 1 (January, 1964): 1-13. Reproduced: cover and p. 9, fig. 7, detail
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 150 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. Selected Works: Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH:1967. Reproduced: no. 178
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 150 archive.org
    Woeckel, Gerhard P. Franz Ignaz Günther: d. grosse Bildhauer d. bayer. Rokoko. Regensburg, DK: Pustet, 1977. Reproduced: p. 124; Mentioned: p. 63
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 166 archive.org
    Ditner, David Charles. Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century European Sculpture in the Cleveland Museum of Art. 1986. Reproduced: p. 345
  • Year in Review (1963). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 27, 1963-January 5, 1964).
  • {{cite web|title=The Immaculate Conception|url=false|author=Ignaz Günther|year=c. 1770|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.294