The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Altarpiece with Relics - Lance, lower right

Altarpiece with Relics - Lance, lower right

c. 1735–1740
(German, 1696–1760)
Germany, Bavaria, 18th century
gilded wood, with relics in niches: gilded wood, mother-of-pearl, ebony, red silk, gold wire, seed pearls, rock crystal, pen and ink on paper
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1964.357.j
Location: 214 Central and Northern European

Description

Götz covers every surface in gold leaf, giving each part of the object equal importance, rather than simply framing a central picture. In this distinctively Central European approach, figural narrative is subordinate to the overall ensemble. Götz designed this object to rest on top of an altar, probably in front of a larger painted or sculpted decorative scheme. The work contains relics seen through the small windows on the perimeter. These small remains of holy figures demonstrate the persistence of a medieval Catholic tradition well into the 1700s.
  • Private collection (Styria, Austria)
    Dr. Kurt Rossacher (Salzburg, Austria), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1964.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 149 archive.org
    Lee, Sherman E. "Golden Anniversary Acquisitions: September 10 through October 16." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 53, no. 7 (1966): 181-284. Referenced: cat. no. 7, Reproduced: p. 221 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 149 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. 165 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 191
  • Golden Anniversary of Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10-October 16, 1966).
  • {{cite web|title=Altarpiece with Relics - Lance, lower right|url=false|author=Joseph Matthias Götz, Workshop|year=c. 1735–1740|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.357.j