Saint James the Greater
Saint James the Greater is shown in his traditional medieval guise of a pilgrim, wearing a soft brim hat emblazoned with a cockleshell emblem and holding a book and a staff (now lost). His shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Spain was the third most popular pilgrimage site after Jerusalem and Rome.
The statue was discovered together with the statue of Saint John the Baptist (exhibited nearby) in a garden-wall niche outside the church of Mouthier-le-Vieillard in Poligny (southeast of Dijon). These sculptures bear the marked influence of an earlier generation of sculptors, principally, Claus Sluter (active 1379–d.1406) and Claux de Werve (active 1396–d.1439), both of whom worked for Duke Philip the Bold.
The statue was discovered together with the statue of Saint John the Baptist (exhibited nearby) in a garden-wall niche outside the church of Mouthier-le-Vieillard in Poligny (southeast of Dijon). These sculptures bear the marked influence of an earlier generation of sculptors, principally, Claus Sluter (active 1379–d.1406) and Claux de Werve (active 1396–d.1439), both of whom worked for Duke Philip the Bold.
Artwork Details
- Title: Saint James the Greater
- Date: ca. 1450–75
- Geography: Made in Poligny, Burgundy, France
- Culture: French
- Medium: Limestone with traces of paint
- Dimensions: Overall: 59 1/2 x 27 1/2 x 16 in. (151.1 x 69.9 x 40.6 cm)
- Classification: Sculpture-Stone
- Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1947
- Object Number: 47.101.17
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters
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French
1450–1500
French
ca. 1500
French
15th century
French
15th century
French
15th century
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