Late medieval limewood sculptors in SouthGermany, of whom Tilman Riemenschneider was one of the most gifted, adopted the practice of allowing the sculptures of large altarpieces to go unpainted. They chose instead to stain a few details in black, such as the eyes in this figure, and to finish the surface with a clear glaze. The lack of attributes makes the identification of this bishop uncertain, but his seated position may indicate that he represents one of the four Church Fathers, either Saint Augustine or Saint Ambrose, the only two with the rank of bishop. The scale and the positioning of the head indicate that the figure occupied the left side of a central shrine of a small altarpiece possibly dedicated to these early leaders of the Church. Although it is actually a high relief, this sculpture conveys a striking sense of volume through a rich play of interconnecting curves. The sensitive and descriptive rendering of the elderly face achieves both psychological depth and spiritual weight.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Seated Bishop
Artist:Tilman Riemenschneider (German, 1460–1531)
Date:ca. 1495
Geography:Made in Würzburg, Lower Franconia
Culture:German
Medium:Limewood and gray-black stain
Dimensions:35 1/2 x 14 x 5 7/8 in. (90.2 x 35.6 x 14.9 cm)
Classification:Sculpture-Wood
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1970
Object Number:1970.137.1
Count Hans Wilczek, Burg Kreuzenstein, Austria ; [ Ruth and Leopold Blumka, New York (sold 1970)]
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Mainfränkisches Museum. "Tilman Riemenschneider, Fruhe Werk," September 5–November 1, 1981.
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. "Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages," October 3, 1999–January 9, 2000.
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Kalden-Rosenfeld, Iris. Tilman Riemenschneider, Werkstattleiter in Würzburg: Beiträge zur Organisation einer Bildschnitzer- und Steinbildhauerwerkstatt im ausgehenden Mittelalter. Wissenschaftliche Beiträge aus europäischen Hochschulen. Ammersbek: Verlag an der Lottbek, 1990. pp. 97, 107–8, n. 398, fig. 311.
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Chapuis, Julien, ed. Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1999. no. 17, pp. 198, 233–35, 255.
Marincola, Michele. "The Surfaces of Riemenschneider." In Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages, edited by Julien Chapuis. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1999. p. 115, fig. 9, 10.
Wixom, William D. "Riemenschneider in America." In Tilman Riemenschneider: Master Sculptor of the Late Middle Ages, edited by Julien Chapuis. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1999. pp. 145, n. 1, 148, 157.
Kalden-Rosenfeld, Iris. Tilman Riemenschneider und seine Werkstatt. Blauen Bücher. Königstein im Taunus: Karl Robert Langewiesche, 2001. no. 21, p. 129, fig. 3, 177.
Kalden-Rosenfeld, Iris. Tilman Riemenschneider: The Sculptor and His Workshop. Königstein im Taunus: Karl Robert Langewiesche Nachfolger, 2004. no. 21, pp. 3, 128–29, fig. 3, 177.
Marincola, Michele. "Riemenschneider's Use of the Decorative Punch in Unpolychromed Sculpture." In Tilman Riemenschneider, c. 1460-1531. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 2004. p. 134.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 103, pp. 141–42, 198.
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