Apostel Jacobus de Oude
c. 1500 - c. 1600
Medium
jet (coal)
Dimensions
7.3
About this artwork
De heilige staat frontaal, heeft in de rechterhand een staf en in de linker een boek. Hij draagt een wijde mantel en een grote hoed, die aan de voorkant is voorzien van een schelp.
Art Historical Context
This small yet striking sculpture, titled *Apostel Jacobus Oude* (Apostle James Greater), depicts the revered saint standing frontally in a poised, devotional pose. Crafted anonymously around 1500–1600, it measures just 7.3 cm in height, making it a perfect pocket-sized devotional object. James holds a staff in his right hand—symbolizing his pilgrim journeys—and a book in his, evoking his apostolic teachings. He is clad in a flowing mantle and a wide-brimmed hat adorned with aop shell at the front, the iconic emblem of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. Carved from jet, a dense black lignite ...
About the Artist
anonymous
In the vast tapestry of art history, "Anonymous" stands not as a singular individual but as a collective designation for countless unidentified creators whose works have endured across millennia. These artists, spanning prehistoric cave painters to medieval illuminators and folk craftsmen, produced the foundational layers of human visual culture. Prior to the Renaissance, when individual fame emer...