Girl
ca. 1635, base possibly late 1830s
Medium
Pearwood (Pyrus communis); pedestal: blackened wood
Dimensions
Height without pedestal, confirmed: 7 1/2 in. (19 cm) Height with pedestal, confirmed: 10 15/16 × 3 1/2 × 4 in. (27.8 × 8.9 × 10.2 cm)
Classification
Sculpture
Culture
German, Schwabisch-Hall
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Acquisitions Fund, 2019
Accession Number
2019.24a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate "Girl," a masterful small-scale sculpture by Leonhard Kern, a leading German artist from Schwäbisch-Hall, carved around 1635 in pearwood—a fine-grained hardwood prized for its ability to capture intricate details. Standing just 7½ inches tall without its later pedestal (possibly from the 1830s), this work exemplifies Kern's Baroque virtuosity, where every fold of fabric, curl of hair, and subtle expression reveals his exceptional carving skill. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Arts collection, it was acquired in 2019 through the A...
About the Artist
Leonhard Kern · 1588–1662
Leonhard Kern (1588–1662), born in Forchtenberg as the fourth son of stonemason Michael Kern the Elder, emerged from a family of masons steeped in architectural sculpture. After attending the Gymnasium in Öhringen, he apprenticed from 1603 to 1609 with his older brother, the sculptor Michael Kern (1580–1649), in Würzburg, mastering stone carving in the family workshop. In 1609, Kern embarked on fo...