Angel
Unknown Artist
c. 1250
Medium
walnut with traces of gilding and polychromy
Dimensions
78.5 × 37 × 23.8 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
1967.27
About this artwork
Surviving in fragmentary condition, this pair of angels lacks lower arms, hands, wings, and attributes. Their original paint and gilding, now almost entirely lost, once rendered their garments a rich brocade and their hair a luxuriant gold. Nonetheless, in their graceful poses and sublime faces—which may portray tragic interest, anguish, or deep concern—their original delicacy and power are still evident. They embody the monumental style of 13th-century High Gothic cathedral sculpture in France....