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Saint James the Greater

1475–1500
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 305
Saint James the Greater, the patron saint of pilgrims, is identified by his cockleshell hat and walking staff. Despite its small scale, this carved statuette conveys a sense of monumentality through its strong facial modeling and bulky, deeply cut drapery patterns. Both suggest the influence of the South German sculptor Veit Stoss (d. 1533), who worked in Cracow and Nuremberg.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Saint James the Greater
  • Date: 1475–1500
  • Geography: Made in Germany
  • Culture: South German
  • Medium: Pine with paint and gilding
  • Dimensions: Overall: 35 1/2 x 14 1/4 x 9 1/2 in. (90.2 x 36.2 x 24.1 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Wood
  • Credit Line: Gift of Charles Drake, 1885
  • Object Number: 85.5.1
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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Mourning Woman
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ca. 1480
Reliquary Bust of Saint Barbara, Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden North Netherlandish, Walnut with paint and gilding, German
Reliquary Bust of Saint Barbara
Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden
ca. 1465
Saint Margaret of Antioch, Alabaster, with traces of gilding, French
Saint Margaret of Antioch
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Angel, Wood, gilded and painted, German
Angel
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Saint James the Greater - South German - The Metropolitan Museum of Art