The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

The Archangel Gabriel from an Annunciation Group

The Archangel Gabriel from an Annunciation Group

c. 1350
alabaster with traces of paint and gilding
Overall: 56.5 x 26 x 10.5 cm (22 1/4 x 10 1/4 x 4 1/8 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1954.387
Location: 109 Gothic Painting and Sculpture

Did You Know?

The surface of alabaster works can vary. By differentiating the intensity of polishing, it is possible for sculptures to create a surface with varying degrees of luster, or shine.

Description

In France, the use of alabaster began in the late 1200s for funerary monuments. The Archangel Gabriel, together with its counterpart, the Virgin Mary (now in the Louvre Museum, Paris) is part of an Annunciation. This is a rare example of alabaster sculpture from the 1300s. The alabaster comes from a quarry near Malaucène in Provence (France), making it an instance of long-distance trade of the rare material. Although the figure is very flat, it was likely made to also be viewed from the back, where there are remnants of gilding and the peacock feathers of the angel’s wing.
  • The sculpture was originally carved from a single piece of alabaster. Two drilled holes in the underside were likely used for installing the sculpture in its original setting. X-rays show that the angel's scroll was broken prior to its acquisition, and it has evidence of historical repairs. Pieces were reattached by drilling holes in the end of each break and securing them with metal pins and adhesive. Breaks and repairs are fairly common in medieval alabasters because of the age, history of use, and material itself. Alabaster is a translucent, whitish stone, much like marble and limestone, two other common materials used in medieval sculptures. However, alabaster is composed of gypsum, or hydrated calcium sulphate, in a fine-grained, compact form (unlike marble and limestone which are calcium carbonate). The fine grain, too small to see without magnification, and the relative ease of carving are what allow such fine detail of sculptures like the one here. These properties also make alabaster susceptible to damage like breakage and loss of detail when exposed to water.
  • Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild
    Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, Vienna, Austria
    -1954
    (Rosenberg & Stiebel, Inc., New York, NY sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1954-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Milliken, William M. “A Fourteenth Century ‘Angel of the Annunciation.’” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 42, no. 6 (June 1955): 118–121. Mentioned: p. 118-120; Reproduced: p. 121 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 136 archive.org
    “Gothic Art 1360-1440.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 50, no. 7 (September 1963): 174–215. Mentioned: p. 203, no. 21; Reproduced: p. 174, no. 21 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 52 archive.org
    Wixom, William D. Treasures from Medieval France. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 210-211 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 53 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 59 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 198-199, no. 71
    Kloppmann, W., et. al. "La Scultpture sur Albatre en France du XIVe au XVIe Siecle: Enjoux, Methodes et Resultats d'un Programme de Recherche." Revue de l'art 200 (2018). Mentioned: p. 9-19; Reproduced: p. 17, fig. 13
    Williamson, Paul. The Wyvern Collection: Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture and Metalwork. London: Thames & Hudson, 2018. CMA Mention: p. 151
    "La Vierge de l'Annonciation." Site Officiel du Musee du Louvre. (Accessed on 1/22/2020). cartelfr.louvre.fr
    Debaene, Marjan. Albast. Gent : OKV Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen, 2022. Reproduced: p. 8
  • Riemenschneider and Late Medieval Alabaster. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 26-July 23, 2023).
    Alabaster. European Sculpture from the Middle Ages to the Baroque. M Leuven, Leuven, Belgium (organizer) (October 14, 2022-February 26, 2023) https://www.mleuven.be/programma/albast.
    Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009).
    Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007), the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008) and Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (2/13/2009 - 6/7/2009): "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art"
    Le Siecle de Charles V (The Century of Charles V). Réunion des musées nationaux - Grand Palais, Paris cedex 12, France (October 10, 1981-February 1, 1982).
    Paris, Reunion des Musées Nationaux, Grand Palais, Louvre, "Le siecle de Charles V at Grand Palais, Paris" October 5, 1981-January, 1982, p. 113, cat. no. 60(B), repr. p. 112.
    Grand Palais, Les Fastes du Gothique: le siècle de Charles V, exposition Galeries nationals du Grand Palais, 9 october 1981 - 1er fevrier 1982.
    Paris, Musée du Louvre, "Gothic Art: 12th-14th Centuries, 12th exhibition of the Council of Europe" April 2-July 1, 1968.
    Cleveland Museum of Art, "Treasures of Medieval France" 1967, p. 210-211, 370.
    Treasures of Medieval France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1966-January 29, 1967).
    Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).
    Art: The International Language. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 2-November 4, 1956).
  • {{cite web|title=The Archangel Gabriel from an Annunciation Group|url=false|author=|year=c. 1350|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.387