The Resurrection, from an Altar Frontal
Unknown Artist
1375–1400
Medium
Silk, gold and cotton thread, linen; raised work, embroidery: split, stem, and couching stitches
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.292,"width":0.419},"mounted":{"height":0.387,"width":0.514}}
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1929.904
About this artwork
This scene of the Resurrection, along with 11 additional embroideries of the life of Christ, may have formed an altar frontal, a hanging decorating the front of an altar. Originally, expensive gold thread covered the background, but it was removed and probably melted down for its monetary value. The loss of the gold exposes a rarely seen preparatory drawing on the linen ground created by an unidentified painter. Now exposed, thick cotton thread forms scrolling vines that, when covered ...