Mourner from the Tomb of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (1364–1404)
Claus de Werve (Netherlandish, 1380–1439)
1404–1410
- Medium
- vizille alabaster
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- Overall: 41.7 x 16.6 x 11.7 cm (16 7/16 x 6 9/16 x 4 5/8 in.)
- Culture
- Netherlands, active Dijon, 15th century
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Medieval Art
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its museum says too little about what it shows to place it for younger viewers. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
This figure comes from the tomb of Duke Philip the Bold from the church of Champmol near Dijon (Burgundy, France). Philip, who founded the monastery and designated it as his burial place, hired the best artists, many of whom came from the Netherlands. While the commission was given in 1381, the work was not completed until 1410, six years after the duke’s death.
This mourner is unusual for the time because it is not carved as a static low relief on the pedestal of the tomb but interacts with the viewers and their fellow procession members. The lifelike quality of the figure is due in large part to the alabaster. Its softness allowed artists to carve details into the material, and the transparent, milky white stone could also be polished to a high gloss.
