Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History


    • Bust of Marie de France, ca. 1381
    Jean de Liège (Franco–Netherlandish, ca. 1330–1381)
    Île–de–France, Saint–Denis, Abbey Church of Saint–Denis, Chapel of Notre–Dame–la–Blanche
    Marble, lead insets, traces of polychromy; Overall (without base): 12 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 6 3/16 in. (31.1 x 32.4 x 15.7 cm); overall (with base): 14 1/16 x 14 5/8 x 6 5/8 in. (35.7 x 37.1 x 16.8 cm); base: 2 1/8 x 14 5/8 x 6 5/8 in. (5.4 x 37.1 x 16.8 cm)
    Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941 (41.100.132)

    The royal abbey of Saint-Denis was the burial church for the rulers of France and their families. Many of the tombs were vandalized in the wake of the French Revolution. This elegant image once formed a part of the tomb effigy of the princess Marie de France (1327–1341) and her sister Blanche de France (1328–1393). Although Marie died in 1341, her effigy was not carved until about forty years later, by the court sculptor Jean de Liège. The appearance of the tomb is known from a drawing made before 1715 (see alternate view). Originally the head rested upon a stone pillow and the princess wore a metal crown. Her braided hair is arranged in the courtly fashion of the time the sculpture was carved.

    Related


    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Forsyth, William H.. "A Group of Fourteenth-Century Mosan Sculptures." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 1 (1968)
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Schmidt, Gerhard. "Beiträge zu Stil und Oeuvre des Jean de Liège." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 4 (1971).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Ostoia, Vera K.. "Contributions on the Style and Works of Jean de Liège." Metropolitan Museum Journal, Vol. 4 (1971).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Gerson, Paula Lieber, ed.. Abbot Suger and Saint-Denis
  • Wixom, William D.. "Medieval Sculpture at the Metropolitan, 800 to 1400." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 62, no. 4 (Spring, 2005).
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Lisbeth, and Jack Soultanian; with contributions by Richard Y. Tayar. Italian Medieval Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters
    • On view: Gallery 305
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    • Bust of Marie de France, ca. 1381
    Jean de Liège (Franco-Netherlandish, ca. 1330–1381)
    Île-de-France, Saint-Denis, Abbey Church of Saint-Denis, Chapel of Notre-Dame-la-Blanche
    Marble, lead insets, traces of polychromy; Overall (without base): 12 1/4 x 12 3/4 x 6 3/16 in. (31.1 x 32.4 x 15.7 cm); overall (with base): 14 1/16 x 14 5/8 x 6 5/8 in. (35.7 x 37.1 x 16.8 cm); base: 2 1/8 x 14 5/8 x 6 5/8 in. (5.4 x 37.1 x 16.8 cm)
    Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941 (41.100.132)

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