Kneeling Youth with Bound Hands
second quarter 17th century
Medium
fruitwood, possibly pear
Dimensions
height (figure only): 24.5 cm (9 5/8 in.) height with base: 27.5 cm (10 13/16 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Robert H. Smith/Robert H. Smith Collection
Accession Number
2022.181.74
Art Historical Context
In the second quarter of the 17th century, German sculptor Leonhard Kern crafted *Kneeling Youth with Hands*, a poignant small-scale sculpture standing just 24.5 cm tall (27.5 cm with base). Carved from fruitwood—likely pear—this delicate work exemplifies the Baroque era's fascination with dramatic human emotion and anatomical precision. Kern, based in Schwäbisch Gmünd, was renowned for his virtuoso ivory and wood carvings, often featuring nude figures that captured vulnerability and pathos in intimate formats ideal for private collectors' cabinets. The youth's kneeling pose, with hands bound...
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...