Bust Reliquary of St. Louis, Bishop of Toulouse
Unknown Artist
late 1300s
Medium
wood (walnut) with polychromy, gesso and gilding
Dimensions
62 × 38.2 × 18.8 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Albert van Stolk
Accession Number
2011.153
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This reliquary bust was probably made to house a relic of Saint Louis, Bishop of Toulouse (1274–97), second son of Charles II of Anjou, King of Naples (1288–1309). Renowned for his works of charity, he was made bishop in 1297 and died shortly after at the age of 23. He was canonized in 1317, and his cult of veneration spread rapidly in Italy and Spain. In art, Louis is generally represented as a "boy" bishop without a beard and with youthful features. The relic (now lost) would have been enshrin...