Anna Muller as donor with her five sons
1599
Medium
Stained glass
Dimensions
Overall: 12 × 17 1/2 in. (30.5 × 44.5 cm)
Classification
Glass-Stained
Culture
Swiss, Lucerne
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number
64.101.1592
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the radiant glow of stained glass, Franz Fallenter's *Anna Muller as Donor with Her Five Sons* (1599) captures a moment of familial piety and patronage from Lucerne, Switzerland. This artwork depicts Anna Muller, a devout donor, surrounded by her five sons, horses symbolizing perhaps prosperity or a noble procession. Measuring just 12 × 17½ inches, it exemplifies the intimate scale of late Renaissance panel glass, likely intended for a private chapel or domestic altar. Stained glass, a medieval craft perfected in the Renaissance, held profound cultural significance in Catholic Europe, wher...