Empress Kunigunde

The pilgrimage church of Saint Leonhard in Lavanttal (Austria) was built in the early decades of the fourteenth century, and about 140 medieval stained-glass panels can still be found in the church today. In the 1920s and 1930s, the church sold several panels to raise funds for necessary repairs. The Met acquired seventeen panels from the church in the 1960s. They are now installed in three lancet windows in the Gothic Chapel at The Met Cloisters. The panels are notable for their legible iconography and vibrant hues. The heavy lines of the figures contrast with the intricate keyhole medallions and colorful floral backgrounds. The saints featured throughout the program stand out against their decorative frames.

The panels were likely created by a travelling workshop based in the nearby town of Judenburg. The various hands and styles of the different craftspeople can be discerned in the subtle variations on common themes. The Judenburg workshop relied on a limited set of cartoons, or full-scale reusable drawings that outlined poses, facial features, and shading, to create their standard repertoire of figures. This is why so many of the saints appear visually similar; they were made using a shared set of designs.

Empress Kunigunde (ca. 975 – 1040) was born into a noble family and married German Emperor Henry II (65.96.3) around the year 1001. The royal couple was revered for their childless marriage, later interpreted as chastity. Together, they founded the Diocese of Bamberg, the episcopal area in which the church of St. Leonhard was located. Upon her husband’s death, Empress Kunigunde became a Benedictine nun and was canonized by Pope Innocent III in 1200. Heinrich and Cunigunda Kropf, the local merchants who sponsored the choir windows, adopted Emperor Henry and Empress Kunigunde as their patron saints. Panels depicting the Kropfs remain in St. Leonhard to this day.