Crowned as the Queen of Heaven, Mary is seated on a richly ornamented throne, while the infant Jesus holds an orb or apple and blesses. Mary also tramples a dragon in triumph—a visual reference to the Book of Genesis (3:15), in which God declares to the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman.” The fluid drapery style is a hallmark of northern sculpture about 1200.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Enthroned Virgin and Child
Date:ca. 1210–20
Geography:Made in Meuse Valley, France
Culture:North French
Medium:Oak with traces of polychromy
Dimensions:48 1/2 in. × 20 1/4 in. × 19 in. (123.2 × 51.4 × 48.3 cm)
Classification:Sculpture-Wood
Credit Line:Bequest of George Blumenthal, 1941
Object Number:41.190.283
Said to be from the monastery at Oignies, Belgium; Demotte Inc., Paris and New York (in 1925); George and Florence Blumenthal, Paris and New York (until 1941)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces from the George Blumenthal Collection," December 8, 1943–?
Stedelijke Feestzaal & Provinciaal Veiligheidsinstituut. "Scaldis Tentoonstelling: oude kunst en cultuur hedendaagse kunst economie," July 21–September 30, 1956.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Year 1200: A Centennial Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 12–May 10, 1970.
Wåhlin, Hans. "Fransk stil i Skånes medeltida träskulptur." In Äldre kyrklig konst i Skåne: Studier utg. med anledning av kyrkliga utställningen i Malmö 1914, edited by Otto Rydbeck, and Ewert Wrangel. Lund: Berlingska Boktryckeriet, 1921. p. 117, fig. 26.
Destrée, Joseph. "La Vierge et l'Enfant: Groupe en bois proventant du Prieuré d'Oignies." La Revue d'Art 21 (January-June 1925). pp. 101–22, fig. 1, 2.
Brière-Misme, Clotilde. "België en Frankrijk." Oud Holland 43, no. 1-6 (1926). p. 150.
Rubinstein-Bloch, Stella. Catalogue of the Collection of George and Florence Blumenthal, New York: Volume 2, Sculpture and Bronzes, Mediaeval and Renaissance. Paris: A. Lévy, 1926. pl. XIV.
Hamann, Richard. "Die Salzwedeler Madonna." Marburger Jahrbuch für Kunstwissenschaft 3 (1927). pp. 88–89, 116, 129, pl. XXXII.
Roussel, Jules. La sculpture française: Volume 1, époque romane. Documents de l'Architecture. Paris: Editions Albert Morancé, 1929. p. 16, pl. 29.
Devigne, Marguerite. La sculpture mosane du XIIe au XVIe siècle, contribution à l'étude de l'art dans la région de la Meuse moyenne. Paris: G. van Oest et cie, 1932. pp. 40–41, pl. VII, no. 30.
Laurent, Marcel. "Une nouvelle "Sedes Sapientiae" romane." Bulletin des Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire (March 1932). p. 31.
Schnitzler, Hermann. Die Goldschmiedeplastik der Aachener Schreinswerkstatt : Beiträge zur Entwicklung der Goldschmiedekunst des Rhein Maasgebietes in der romanischen Zeit. Bonn: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, 1934. pp. 101–2.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Masterpieces in the Collection of George Blumenthal: A Special Exhibition. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943. no. 3.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Masterpieces in the Collection of George Blumenthal: A Special Exhibition. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943. fig. 3.
Cassart, Jean. "Les Madones anciennes du diocèse de Tournai." Revue Diocésaine de Tournai 9 (November 1954). pp. 6–8.
Randall Jr., Richard H. "A King Reinstated." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 13, no. 10 (June 1955). p. 294.
Halle aux Draps, Tournai. Scaldis, Escaut, Schelde: Tournai, Halle aux Draps, Casino Communal, Musée d'Histoire et d'Archéologie, Musée des Beaux-Arts; Du 15 juillet à 10 septembre 1956. Tournai: Halle aux Draps, Tournai, 1956. no. 4, p. 40.
Swarzenski, Hanns. "A Vièrge d'Orée." Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts 58, no. 313/314 (1960). p. 171.
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. 35, pp. 28–29.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. New York: Dutton Publishing, 1970. no. 147, p. 174.
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. 510.
Beeson, Nora B., ed. Guide to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1972. no. 32, p. 217.
Legner, Anton, ed. Rhein und Maas: Kunst und Kultur 800–1400. Volume 1, Der Katalog. Cologne: Museum Schnütgen, 1972. pp. 328, 338.
Deuchler, Florens. Gothic Art. Universe History of Art. New York: Universe Books, 1973. no. 68, pp. 56, 107, fig. 68.
Anne Hagopian van Buren. "The Canonical Office in Renaissance Painting, Part II: More about the Rolin Madonna." The Art Bulletin 60, no. 4 (December 1978). p. 623, fig. 5.
Mambour, Josée. La Vierge à l'Enfant dans la sculpture en Hainault. Mons: Fédération du Tourisme du Hainaut, 1981. pp. 17–19.
Didier, Robert. "La Vierge assise à l'enfant (Sedes Sapientiae)." Millénaire de la collégiale Saint-Jean de Liège: Exposition d'art et d'histoire, 17 septembre-29 octobre 1982 (1982). pp. 134–35, fig. 27.
Suckale, Robert. "Zur Bedeutung Englands für die welfische Skulptur um 1200." In Heinrich der Löwe und seine Zeit: Herrschaft und Repräsentation der Welfen 1125-1235, edited by Jochen Luckhardt, and Franz Niehoff. Vol. 2. Munich: Hirmer, 1995. p. 445, fig. 336.
Didier, Robert, and Jacques Toussaint. Autour de Hugo d'Oignies. Namur: Société Archéologique de Namur, 2003. pp. 76–79, 3 illustrations, pp. 76–78.
Didier, Robert. "Hugo d'Oignies: Questions Spéciales et Nouvelles Réflexions." In Actes du Colloque: Autour de Hugo d'Oignies, edited by Robert Didier, and Jacques Toussaint. Namur: Société Archéologique de Namur, 2004. p. 33.
Wixom, William D. "Medieval Sculpture at the Metropolitan: 800 to 1400." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 62, no. 4 (2005). p. 22.
Gaborit, Jean-René. "Le trône de la Vierge essai de typologie." In Vierges à l'Enfant médiévales de Catalogne mises en perspectives; Corpus des Vierges à l'Enfant (XIIe-XVe siècle) des Pyrénées-Orientales, edited by Marie-Pasquine Subes, and Jean-Bernard Mathon. Collection Histoire de l'art 5. Perpignan: Presses Universitaires de Perpignan, 2013. pp. 156–57, fig. 10.
Little, Charles T., and Miguel Ayres de Campos. The McCarthy Collection: Sculpture. Vol. IV. London: Ad Ilissvm, 2024. p. 360.
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