Virgin and Child
Tilman Riemenschneider
(German, 1460–1531)
about 1490–95
Object PlaceWurzburg, Germany
Medium/TechniqueLimewood
Dimensions120.7 x 38.1 x 20.2 cm (47 1/2 x 15 x 7 15/16 in.)
Credit LineGift in memory of Felix M. Warburg by his wife Frieda Schiff Warburg
Accession number41.653
On View
Not on viewClassificationsSculpture
Collections
This Virgin wears a crown and stands upon a crescent moon, which associates her with the Woman of the Apocalypse from the Bible's Book of Revelation. Riemenschneider presents the figures with great simplicity and humanity-the Virgin seems slightly melancholy and the Christ Child about to smile. Particularly touching is the way the Virgin holds one of her son's feet while he clasps the other.
ProvenanceFelix M. Warburg (b. 1871 - d. 1937), New York; by inheritance to his widow, Frieda Schiff Warburg (b. 1876 - d. 1958), New York; 1941, gift of Frieda Schiff Warburg to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 11, 1941)
