This noble bearded head of a king is a striking example of the courtly style associated with the reign of Louis IX (1226–70). The elegant curves of the hair and the finely carved lines of the face attest to an artisan of great skill. The head probably belonged to a column figure decorating one of the major Parisian churches.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Head of a King
Date:ca. 1230–35
Culture:French
Medium:Limestone
Dimensions:13 1/2 × 11 5/8 × 11 5/8 in. (34.3 × 29.6 × 29.5 cm) Other (weight): 57lb. (25.9kg)
Classification:Sculpture-Stone
Credit Line:Fletcher Fund, 1947
Accession Number:47.100.55
Probably from the west facade, Portal of the Virgin, Notre-Dame, Paris.; Wagner, Orléans, France; Henri Petit, Paris; Malfay, Paris; [ Raphael Stora, New York (about 1923?)]; [ Durlacher BrothersLondon and New York]; Arthur Sachs (American), Cambridge, Mass. (sold 1943); [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York (1943–sold 1947)]
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Year 1200: A Centennial Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 12–May 10, 1970.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Grand Gallery," October 19, 1974–January 5, 1975.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Culture," September 26, 2006–February 18, 2007.
Rorimer, James J., and William Holmes Forsyth. "The Medieval Galleries." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 12, no. 6 (February 1954). pp. 128, 130.
Hoffmann, Konrad, ed. The Year 1200: A Centennial Exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970. no. 22, p. 18.
Sauerländer, Willibald. "Review of 'The Year 1200,' a Centennial exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. February 12-May 10, 1970." The Art Bulletin 53, no. 4 (December 1971). p. 509, fig. 3.
Schmidt, Gerhard. "Review of Gotische Skulptur in Frankreich 1140-1270 by Willibald Sauerländer." Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 35, no. 1/2 (1972). p. 141, fig. 8.
Deuchler, Florens. Gothic Art. Universe History of Art. New York: Universe Books, 1973. no. 73, p. 56, fig. 73.
Forsyth, William Holmes. "Acquisitions from the Brummer Gallery." In The Grand Gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art : Sixth International Exhibition presented by C.I.N.O.A., La Conféderation Internationale des Négociants en Oeuvres d'Art, the International Confederation of Dealers in Works of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974. p. 4.
Shepard, Mary B. Europe in the Middle Ages, edited by Charles T. Little, and Timothy B. Husband. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. pp. 13, 87, pl. 78.
Little, Charles T. "Searching for the Provenances of Medieval Stone Sculpture: Possibilities and Limitations." Gesta 33, no. 1 (1994). p. 31, fig. 6.
Sandron, Dany. "Premiers résultats d'une programme franco-américaine d'analyses pétrographiques." Bulletin Monumental 153, no. 2 (1995). p. 196.
Baron, Françoise. Sculpture française. I, Moyen âge. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1996. p. 83.
Rollet-Echalier, Catherine. L'Abbaye royale Sainte-Geneviève au Mont de Paris. "Collana Disegnatori Italiani". Saint-Cyr-sur-Loire: Sutton, 2005.
Wixom, William D. "Medieval Sculpture at the Metropolitan: 800 to 1400." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 62, no. 4 (2005). p. 24.
Little, Charles T., ed. Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture. New York, New Haven, and London: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006. no. 10, pp. 39–40.
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